Domestic abusers whose victims kill themselves should face manslaughter charges

Just one person. 

In the UK, there has only been a single known case where a domestic abuser has been found guilty of manslaughter following the suicide of their victim.

This was in 2017, when Nicholas Allen was jailed for 10 years after his ex-girlfriend took her own life as a ‘direct result’ of his controlling and coercive behaviour. 

He’s still the only person to be jailed in such circumstances. 

That’s despite the fact that the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) project’s research suggested that between March 2020 and April 2022, at least 114 victims of domestic violence and coercive control are suspected to have taken their own lives in England and Wales.

I first became aware of the issue when reading about the plight of the families who were left behind after a mother, daughter, or sister took her life after suffering abuse. 

It made me sick to my stomach to think that their loved one paid the ultimate price, while the person who abused them got away with what is, to me, straightforward manslaughter.

How many abusers have escaped justice and stronger sentences due to a system that fails to fully recognise the impact of domestic violence? 

How is it that a dead woman is considered a lack of evidence, rather than a clear sign of wrong-doing?

So I’m adding my voice to the campaigners who have been calling for a change to the law that would see abusers face stronger sentences and more severe charges if their victim dies by suicide.

While the act of someone taking their own life is never black and white, anyone who has spoken to a domestic abuse victim can tell you the impact that coercive control, physical violence, emotional turmoil inflicted by a partner or relative can have on an individual’s mental health.

In the NPCC report into victim-suicides, in 95% of suspected cases they looked into, they found that the domestic violence that occurred before the victim took their life was perpetrated by an intimate partner.

I believe in many of these cases someone’s choice to live a happy life has been stolen from them by someone they should be able to trust.

It’s why I want our system to come down stronger on abusers who leave their victim feeling like they have no choice but to take their own lives.

Victims like Gemma Robinson, from Dartford, a 34 year old mum of two, who killed herself during the pandemic while waiting for her abuser Joseph Falconer to stand trial. 

Falconer left her with a fractured eye socket, cuts and bruises after he grabbed her throat and repeatedly punched her in the face. 

Just eight months later, Gemma’s body was discovered and an inquest into her death ruled that she had taken her own life.

Gemma’s sister, Kirsty told LBC: ‘If she hadn’t experienced what she’d gone through, if she had never met him, she would still be here – 100%’ 

Her loved ones then joined in growing number of families who have backed changes in the way police and prosecution services treat such cases to try and formally establish in law the link between domestic abuse and suicide – a link that, for many of us, seems obvious, but clearly needs more research and understanding.

If someone has died as a direct result of the abusive actions of another human being – to me, that’s manslaughter. 

If manslaughter charges can arise after a traffic collision –  I believe the same rules should apply to suicide after repeated abuse.

Stronger charges and sentencing are necessary not only to gain justice for the victim, but to do the utmost to ensure the perpetrator never finds someone else to abuse.

But things may be changing. 

34-year-old Jessica was in a a relationship with a man who who was accused of subjecting her to violence, sexual abuse and controlling behaviour.

She eventually moved 50 miles away from him to escape her ex-partner. She reported feeling suicidal, but no action was taken, until eventually he found her and contacted her – in February 2018, she was found dead. 

In June 2022, after an inquest into her death, the coroner ruled that the underlying cause of her ‘illness’, or suicidal behaviour, was domestic abuse – making her case the first that explicitly mentions the link between domestic violence and suicide.

Her ex-partner denied the allegations of domestic abuse and has never been convicted. 

He was charged with assault in 2017, but no further action was taken after Jessica withdrew her involvement in the investigation.

A woman is dead after a history of domestic abuse – as found by a coroner – yet there have been no convictions linked to her abuse or her death.

Sadly, rather than more severe charges like manslaughter, too often death of a victim has led to a reduced punishment of their abuser. 

Gemma Robinson’s abuser, Joseph Falconer, instead of being tried on his initial charge of grievous bodily harm with intent (which carries a maximum life sentence), pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of GBH and criminal damage. 

The reason for the reduction in the charge? Gemma was no longer alive to give evidence to support the prosecution.

How is it that a dead woman is considered a lack of evidence, rather than a clear sign of wrong-doing?

I was taken aback at the comments of Frank Mullane, of charity Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, who told LBC: ‘If there is a homicide, police throw resources at it. We should be bringing some of that intensity and resource to suicides and make sure we are checking criminality – which at the moment is going by without being checked’

That quote haunted me. If only these women had access to the right resources in life rather than death.

It made me think about all the victims out there who suffered firstly at the hands of their partner, and secondly from a lack of funding in women’s services, research into domestic violence or mental health support. 

If an abuser has a hand in their victim’s death, then they should be punished accordingly.

And it’s time that the justice system stopped treating dead women as lost evidence, instead of people who have their chance at a happy life taken from them.

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