A coroner has ruled that a long, toxic relationship with her abusive former partner contributed to the suicide of Katie Madden in 2023. Hours before she hanged herself, Madden spoke on the phone with Jonathon Russell, who had been banned from contacting her after an alleged assault. Despite the coroner's findings, no criminal investigation has been launched into her death.
This case highlights a broader crisis, with the Domestic Homicide Project recording 98 suspected suicides following domestic abuse in 2024, compared to 80 domestic homicides. New research from Kent suggests that a third of all suspected suicides in the county occur in the context of domestic abuse, which could mean up to 1,500 victims nationally each year.
Campaigners argue that police investigations into such suicides are often superficial, failing to seize phones or secure locations as potential crime scenes. Only one domestic abuser has been successfully prosecuted for manslaughter in such cases, in 2017, when the defendant pleaded guilty. Dame Vera Baird, former victims' commissioner, called this 'a shocking record.'
Advocacy after Fatal Domestic Abuse is calling for a new law specific to suicide triggered by domestic abuse, arguing that suicide in these circumstances should not be seen as a voluntary act. The legal framework and police procedures must reflect the coercive control that drives victims to take their own lives.
