"There was a witness to the call who gave evidence to the inquest into Madden's death. Mason Jones, a friend of Madden's, said Russell was vile and abusive. Although Jones said he could not remember the exact words Russell used, he said: I recall Jon saying at least once that he was in control of the town and would end her life if she didn't do it herself."
"Nigel Parsley, the coroner, concluded that Madden died by suicide while the balance of her mind was disturbed, but he also cited her relationship with Russell, with whom she had two children, as a contributory factor. Kate's toxic relationship, in conjunction with Kate's known mental health conditions, affected her state of mind and therefore contributed to her death, he said."
"In the days leading up to Madden's death, her mother, Bernadette Sutton, had told police and social services that she was concerned about the threat Russell posed to her daughter. By this point, I thought he would kill her or she would take her own life, Sutton said, in a statement. In evidence, Russell denied saying this, but he did admit he had encouraged Madden to kill herself before this."
Katie Madden had a tense phone call hours before taking her own life with former partner Jonathon Russell, who was on bail and banned from contacting her. A witness described Russell as vile and abusive and recalled him saying he was in control of the town and would end her life if she did not do it herself. Russell denied that specific threat but admitted encouraging her to kill herself. Madden's mother warned police and social services that she feared Russell might kill her daughter or that her daughter would take her own life. The coroner recorded suicide with the balance of her mind disturbed and cited the toxic relationship as a contributory factor. Campaigners are calling for circumstances of suicides linked to domestic abuse to be investigated as potential criminal evidence.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]