Growing number of domestic violence victims are taking their own lives
Sharon Holland sits surrounded by fresh flowers as she scrolls through photos on her phone of her daughter, Chloe.
Warning: This article contains references to suicide and domestic abuse
Beautiful, poised, Chloe stares back at her from the screen. She was a fun, independent young women – until she wasn’t.
Caught up in an abusive relationship with a former partner, who her mother calls a “monster”, Chloe became a shadow of her former self.
Sharon never met him as Chloe kept the ongoing relationship a secret but she had suspicions when her daughter, who had moved out of home, retreated from her friends and family.
“As far as I knew, they’d split up in September 2022 and she was living happily in Southampton,” she says.
But Sharon began to suspect the relationship might be back on after she spotted her daughter liking some of her ex-boyfriend’s Facebook posts.
Chloe was full of life before she met her abuser
“I saw a few hearts on his pictures, and thought ‘here we go’. But she would always deny it and say she would never get back with him. Of course, she was lying to me.”
Increasingly isolated from her loved ones, Chloe’s only communication with Sharon was through text messages and the occasional phone call.
“She turned up at people’s houses with black eyes and made excuses for marks around her neck and everything else,” says Sharon. “No one told me.”
Chloe took her own life in February 2023.
Her family is not alone in their grief. There are now more victims of domestic abuse who take their own life, than those who are killed by their partners.
Between April 2022 to March 2023, there were 93 people who took their own lives following domestic abuse. A 29% rise compared to the previous year.
Sharon and Sky News’ Ashna Hurynag
Assaulted with a dumbbell and handed a knife
Marc Masterton, Chloe’s boyfriend at the time, was routinely assaulting her, controlling her appearance, isolating her from friends and family, belittling her and encouraging her to self-harm.
On one occasion after he assaulted her with a dumbbell, Chloe threatened to take her own life.
In response, Masterton handed her a knife.
“She said on a few occasions, his eyes went from blue to black and it terrified her,” Sharon says.
The abuse was happening in plain sight – in hotels, hostels and on public transport. Chloe eventually chose to report the abuse to police. But two weeks later, she attempted to take her own life.
At the intensive care unit she was taken to before she died, Sharon didn’t leave her bedside. It was here she learnt from a police officer about Chloe’s testimony a fortnight before.
Chloe and her mother, Sharon
Chloe’s evidence
“They told me she’d done a video statement for over two hours and were investigating him,” Sharon says.
“I’ve watched it. She was crying for lots of it and was distraught. I was devastated and angry. He was telling her to take her life. He was giving her knives up against her neck and then saying, you do it.”
Her evidence led to the conviction of her abuser. Masterton admitted coercive and controlling behaviour and was jailed for three years, nine months.
Justice which, Sharon feels, fell well below her expectations.
“We needed to get over four years for him to go on this dangerous person’s list, so he could be monitored as high risk,” she adds.
Sharon is now calling for tougher sentences for those convicted of coercive control.
The current maximum sentence a perpetrator can get for the offence is five years, but Sharon points to countries like France where the maximum sentence is 10 years.
“No amount of years is going to bring her back… But he needed to get more than that.”
The overlooked victims of a growing crisis
It’s incredibly rare to get a criminal investigation in these cases, says Hazel Mercer from the national charity, Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse.
“Most of the families that come to us where there’s been a suicide as result of domestic abuse, the biggest issue for them is the lack of acknowledgement of what has happened to their loved one. Is there going to be any justice that says this domestic abuse was a crime against this person who’s now dead?
“They ask, is anything like that going to happen, and at the moment, nine times out of ten, the answer is no.”
Hazel Mercer advocates for families who have a lost a loved one after domestic abuse
Hazel works with families who feel a lack of “professional curiosity” by authorities means critical connections are often missed.
“When we have a homicide, resources are put into it, there is a real investigation… For a suicide, we seldom see that investigative desire or professional curiosity to look behind that suicide and why it happened.”
Fighting for change
The Crown Prosecution Service is investigating the link between suicide and domestic abuse more closely.
Efforts are being made to educate police and prosecutors on coercive control’s deadly trajectory after the high-profile death of mother Kiena Dawes, who was abused before she died by suicide on 22 July 2022.
Sky News has learnt the CPS is actively assessing similar cases, but Chief Crown Prosecutor Kate Brown says “it isn’t straightforward”.
Kiena Dawes was abused before she died by suicide
“Invariably because of the nature of coercive and controlling behaviour, a lot of that offending happens in private. So without the victim, that’s quite difficult,” she says.
They are working with police to unpick the detail of the abuse a victim suffered in the lead up to their death. Collating evidence from family, friends or even doctors if the victim’s medical records show there’s been a history of physical violence.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Kate Brown
The Ministry of Justice told Sky News: “This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls. The independent sentencing review is looking at sentences for offences primarily committed against them.
“Victims of controlling and coercive behaviour will also now be better protected through a new law that ensures more abusers are subject to joined-up management by police and probation.”
For Sharon, her campaign is a way of honouring her daughter’s memory. “I won’t stop till I get justice for Chloe,” she says.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Fans will see a series of changes to Ticketmaster sales practices after an investigation into Oasis concert prices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured a number of commitments from Ticketmaster after its investigation found it did not offer fans enough clarity on pricing.
Money latest: Ticketmaster forced to change sales process
It identified that Ticketmaster did not tell Oasis fans waiting in lengthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices – and that prices would jump as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.
It also said Ticketmaster sold some “platinum” tickets at almost 2.5 times the price of ‘standard’ tickets – without sufficiently explaining that they offered no additional benefits over some ‘standard’ tickets in the same areas of the venue.
Ticketmaster will now be required to:
- Tell fans 24 hours in advance if a tiered pricing system is being used. This means fans will know beforehand if there are multiple prices for the same type of ticket, and that more expensive ones will be released once the cheapest sell out;
- Provide more information about ticket prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay;
- Give additional information to help fans make the best decisions, and give more information about the prices of tickets sold using tiered pricing;
- Not use any misleading ticket labels, giving the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case;
- Provide regular reports to the CMA on how it has implemented the changes over the next two years to ensure robust compliance.
Failure to implement these measures could result in enforcement action.
Separate to the CMA report, Ticketmaster have now also stopped using “platinum” labels in the UK.
The CMA said it hopes the measures will send a “clear message” to other ticketing websites, adding: “If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
“We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it.”
Responding to the findings, Ticketmaster said: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law.
“To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues. This builds on our capped resale, strong bot protection, and clear pricing displays, and we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”
The watchdog launched its investigation following widespread complaints about the sale that saw over 900,000 tickets purchased through the site.
Some ended up paying as much as £355 for tickets originally advertised for £148.
Pic: PA
The CMA had made it clear, in an update in March, that it was seeking a series of remedies that were yet to be agreed.
It explained then that Ticketmaster labelled certain seated tickets as “platinum” and sold them for nearly two-and-a-half times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without explaining why they were more expensive.
It found that it “risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better”.
The regulator also concluded that Ticketmaster did not inform fans that there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices, but it said there was no evidence that dynamic pricing – a form of surge pricing where costs can rise depending on levels of demand – was used.
The UK leg of the Oasis tour will end at Wembley Stadium this coming weekend.
A major test of the CMA’s agreement with Ticketmaster could come soon, however, as it is widely believed that Oasis plan to return to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire next year for a gig to mark the 30th anniversary of their celebrated 1996 concert.
A US vaccine firm has opened the first mRNA manufacturing plant in the UK, against a backdrop of increasing anti-jab rhetoric back home.
The new facility outside Oxford is part of a £1bn investment in the UK by Moderna, which specialises in mRNA.
The novel vaccine technology delivered some of the most effective and fastest-to-develop jabs during the COVID pandemic.
Several pharma companies, including Germany’s leading mRNA pioneer BioNTech, are now racing to develop new therapies.
Moderna says the plant will produce up to 100 million doses of its existing vaccine products each year. It has also been designed to scale-up production to 250 million doses a year in the event of a new disease outbreak.
“God-forbid, if there is another pandemic, we can switch the facility any day,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.
The UK investment deal was agreed by the previous government, but the plant’s opening is welcome relief for the current one.
In recent weeks, four major pharmaceutical companies have halted planned investments in the UK following disputes over drug pricing and profitability in the UK.
‘A great statement’
It also promises to restore domestic vaccine manufacturing capability in the UK, the lack of which was exposed when dangerous supply interruptions threatened the early COVID response.
“It’s a really fast way of getting new vaccines discovered,” said Lord Patrick Vallance, former chief scientist and now science minister.
“It’s also a great statement of confidence in the UK that [Moderna has] chosen to base themselves here.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting attended the opening
Moderna: UK ‘still believes’ in vaccines
The mRNA molecule is the same used by our cells to order the production of new proteins, and allows vaccines to be produced using just the genetic code of a virus or other biological target.
Moderna’s investment decision pre-dated Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but the Moderna CEO said its operation in the UK – a country that “still believes in vaccination” – may pay dividends if anti-vaccine rhetoric translates into a lack of demand for its products in the US.
“If there is less appetite by governments around the world, including in the US, to use vaccines, we might invest less in vaccines,” said Mr Bancel.
“We have to invest where there’s a demand for our products.”
Read more: All health claims made by Trump – and what experts say
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The UK presents other attractions for the company which has suffered substantial losses as demand for its COVID vaccine has fallen.
It’s betting that leading UK universities and a large patient population will make for successful clinical trials.
The company has ongoing NHS trials of new jabs against seasonal flu, a combination COVID and flu vaccine, cancer vaccines and mRNA therapies for two inherited childhood diseases.
Moderna says it is now the largest private commercial sponsor of clinical trials in the UK.
Footballer Wayne Rooney has said he believes he would be dead if it wasn’t for his wife Coleen’s help with his alcohol issues.
The former England and Manchester United star told his friend and former teammate Rio Ferdinand he would “drink for two days straight” at the peak of his career.
Recalling that period on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, he said he would “come training and at the weekend I’d score two goals and then I’d go back and go and drink for two days straight again”.
But the 39-year-old said his wife “helped me control that massively” and “managed me because I needed managing”.
“I honestly believe, if she weren’t there, I’d be dead,” he said.
Speaking to Ferdinand, he recalled meeting Coleen when they were at secondary school together in Liverpool and getting married in 2008 after six years of dating.
The couple in Germany during the 2006 World Cup. Pic: PA
“When I was 17, she could see, she knew my mind and she knew I was a bit out there,” he said.
“I loved my football, obsessed with football, but also I loved a night out or whatever, going out. She’s seen it very early on and she’s controlled that. Well, not controlled, but helped me control that massively.”
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The couple in Liverpool in 2006. Pic: PA
Gum and eye drops to hide drinking at work
When he was playing for Manchester United, he would try to hide his drinking sessions from manager Sir Alex Ferguson by chewing gum and using eye drops, he added.
The couple have four children together. Their marriage has been impacted by several allegations of Rooney being unfaithful, for which he has issued public apologies.
The former striker, who is still Manchester United’s all-time record goal scorer, was arrested for drink-driving in 2017.
After he was caught over the limit in Wilmslow, Cheshire, he pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was banned for two years, made to do 100 hours of unpaid work, and was fined two weeks’ wages by his then-team Everton.
He was arrested for “public intoxication” in the US a year later and fined $116 (£86) without going to court.
Having left his role as head coach at Plymouth Argyle, Rooney now has his own BBC podcast and works as a pundit on Match Of The Day.
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