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Every suicide in which the deceased had endured domestic violence should be considered a possible murder case, according to demands from advocates who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the catastrophic consequences of their behavior.

This step is essential because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders accountable in instances of self-inflicted death after family violence.

“In case after case, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization during a significant meeting in London earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a organization running a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for reform in the legal framework, brought together relatives who had lost loved ones to suicide after family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had reported her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as evidence about his conduct.

After her death, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for 41 months. He was subsequently sentenced for an additional term after a another victim came forward to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to hold offenders accountable; however she then discovered that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it was not a new law I needed as existing laws were in place, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down previous to her death by the authorities and many other agencies, they needed to do their job properly, and things needed to change,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and just a handful of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was astonished to see so many families who have been battling the police and prosecution service for a long time and receiving no resolution for their child or sibling and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was vibrant, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, really loving mother to her kids, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and dismantled gradually until she was unable to envision a way forward. The man who caused this walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I have not managed to move on. Honestly, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I pleaded with them to investigate what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was no action that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to struggle to obtain, took five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined death by suicide, notwithstanding substantial proof over a very traumatic four day period of domestic abuse and failings by various agencies.”

The mother told the meeting that for a decade she has “struggled against a system that ignores what is obvious”.

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder movement was critical “since when an individual dies by suicide after they’ve endured family violence, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We need to apply the laws we already possess properly and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute. We need the judiciary to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill equally to physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, chaired by a Labour MP, and including the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A junior minister informed the assembly: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is outdated, honestly, it’s the world we currently live in.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be simple to fix. It is extremely complicated and difficult, particularly when you consider the issue of homicide, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the legal body commented: “Family violence is a heinous offense and our legal officers are regularly instructed to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a known context of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have in the past prosecuted a number of defendants for leading to the fatality of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are currently active.

“We are also working with law enforcement and other stakeholders to ensure these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators accountable for the complete scope of their crimes.”