Domestic homicide review - Mrs Y
The Safer Sunderland Partnership has published the findings of a domestic homicide review into the death of a 79-year-old woman killed by her husband, who went on to take his own life.
Mr and Mrs Y were found dead at their Sunderland home in 2013.
The independent report was commissioned by the Safer Sunderland Partnership. This is in line with Home Office guidance which seeks to establish what lessons can be learned where someone has been killed by their current or former partner.
Speaking on behalf of the Safer Sunderland Partnership, Michelle Meldrum, the Independent Chair of the review, said: "This was a tragic case and deeply distressing for all those involved. I would like to express my sincere condolences to their family.
"We are determined to learn from this and have already taken action to address each and every one of the recommendations it makes."
The review identified that Mrs Y was not considered to be a potential victim of abuse, due in part to her age.
This meant that procedures and protocols that would normally be set in motion to protect victims in cases of domestic abuse were never considered because Mrs Y was not identified as a potential victim or as someone at risk. The review also recognised that Mr Y had no recorded history of domestic abuse.
It concluded that that on the basis of information available at the time, Mrs Y's tragic death was not 'predictable', but that had the potential signs of domestic abuse been recognised and explored, then it may have been prevented.
Michelle Meldrum added: "We intend to use the learning from this tragic case to raise public awareness that older people are just as much at risk of domestic abuse as those who are traditionally thought to be vulnerable. Up until now this has been a hidden problem.
"We want to make sure people have the confidence to recognise the signs that someone they know and love is at risk of domestic abuse as well as making sure they know where to go to report or discuss their concerns and get support."
John Lawlor, Chief Executive of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (NTW) NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We would like to thank the author for her comprehensive report. We know that such investigations can't always answer every question a family member or friend has about the death of a loved one, but the hope is always that such reports can help avoid other families having to go through the same trauma.
"The panel concluded that the death could not have been predicted, however this does not mean that there is not work to be done going forward. Recommendations have been made to ourselves, the Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group, City Hospitals Sunderland, the Safer Sunderland Partnership and Sunderland City Council and we will act on them."
Action has already been taken to address the key recommendations which focus on improving awareness of older people and domestic abuse including:
- A review looking at setting minimum standards in terms of domestic abuse awareness for a wide range of agencies who deliver services in Sunderland. This will result in thousands of frontline staff having a greater awareness of how to identify the issue and the steps to take to address this
- A campaign is being planned to raise public awareness of the issue of domestic abuse and older people - the community were shocked by this case and unaware of any issues until the deaths
- The report also recommended that Government has a role in raising awareness of older people and domestic abuse. In a letter approving and commending the report, the Home Office have agreed to consider this
Notes for editors
The purpose of a domestic homicide review is to:
- Establish what lessons can be learned from the domestic homicide and how local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims
- Identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is to change as a result
- Apply these lessons to service responses including changes to policies and procedures as appropriate
- Prevent domestic homicide and improve service responses for all domestic abuse victims and their children through improved intra and inter agency working
Domestic homicide reviews are not inquiries into how the victim died or who is culpable; in the case of Mrs Y this was a matter for the coroner to determine.
At the request of Mr and Mrs Y's family, the decision has been taken to publish the domestic homicide review executive summary rather than the full report.
The family have also requested that the media respect their privacy.
The Safer Sunderland Partnership was set up to bring community safety partners from across the city together, to share expertise and resources to reduce criminal and anti-social activity in the community.
The Safer Sunderland Partnership has a statutory duty to carry out domestic homicide reviews.
Related downloads
Domestic homicide review - executive summary (Mrs Y)
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