More domestic abusers to be charged with manslaughter after partner ends own life, police say
25 March 2025, 00:43 | Updated: 25 March 2025, 01:02
More domestic abusers whose victims die by suicide will be charged with manslaughter, a senior police chief has said, as more victims are driven to suicide by their abusers.
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The most common cause of death among victims of domestic abuse was suspected suicide for the second year running, a new report shows.
The report found that in total there were 1,012 domestic abuse-related deaths between April 1 2020 and 31 March 2024.
These include 501 domestic homicides - 332 by current or ex-partners and 169 by another adult relative; 354 suspected victim suicide following domestic abuse (SVSDA); 71 unexpected deaths; 61 child deaths and 25 deaths classified as "other".
In 54% of domestic homicides, the perpetrator was already known to the police.
The findings came in an annual national police report on domestic homicides in England and Wales published on Tuesday, which covered in the year to the end of March 2024.
The issue was highlighted most recently in the case of Ryan Wellings, who was cleared of the manslaughter of Kiena Dawes but convicted of domestic abuse.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, who is national policing lead for domestic abuse, said more perpetrators will be charged with manslaughter following their victims' deaths.
She said it is "heartening" that more police investigations are being launched into fatalities following domestic abuse.
"I've met some incredibly impressive families who have felt they themselves have needed to investigate after their loved one's death, and that's wrong, because that's our job, and we must do that," she said.
"But I've also met families who've had a great service from investigators who've worked incredibly hard and still may or may not have secured a conviction.
"It's really important and it's heartening to see that we are seeing more and more cases under investigation following a death."
She also urged officers to make sure they thoroughly investigate domestic abuse deaths involving a fall from height that may be staged suicides or accidents.
"Working with families, they were particularly concerned about, are the police missing homicides, and are perpetrators getting away with murdering somebody, but setting it up to look like a suicide?," Ms Rolfe said.
"We've been keen to understand what might be going on.
"I don't think police are missing homicides that are staged suicide.
"However, it's very clear that there is more for us to do to be really curious about what's happened, to ensure that evidence at the scene of an incident is very thoroughly captured and explored, that the status of somebody purporting to be a partner is really thoroughly understood, and that we are really searching and are seeking to understand what's gone on."
Chloe Holland's mother says sentencing 'must change' following complaints over Kiena Dawes' case
Pregnant Fawziyah Javed, 31, died when she was pushed from Arthur's Seat by her abusive partner Kashif Anwar, who falsely claimed he had slipped and bumped into her while the couple were on holiday in 2021.
Campaign group Killed Women has pushed for domestic abuse to be a key line of inquiry for police investigating any death of a woman who has fallen from a height.
The latest annual report on domestic homicides examined 22 deaths of domestic abuse victims who fell from a height between April 1 2020 and March 31 2024.
Three were pregnant at the time of their deaths, and in 15 cases the suspect was present when they fell.
The 22 cases were classed as eight suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse; six unexpected deaths; five intimate partner homicides and three adult family homicides.
Across the four-year period, 12 SVSDA cases saw charges brought against a suspect, including one - Wellings - for manslaughter.
In the most recent year, to end March 2024, there were 262 deaths, of which 98 were SVSDA; 80 a killing by a current or ex-partner; 39 by another adult relative; 28 unexpected deaths; 11 child deaths and six classified as other.
Police chiefs say the increase in suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse is due to improvements in recording rather than a rise in the number of such cases.
The proportion of deaths that are killings by current or former partners has remained at around 30% across the four-year period.
In 90% of SVSDA cases involving a history of coercive and controlling behaviour, the suspect had previous contact with agencies other than the police, the report found.
