“Some controlling people will go through all eight stages more than once. I always think that the murder of Angela Best in 2016 is one we should never forget…Theodore John, Angela’s long-term partner, was able to travel through the eight stages three times, killing three partners. The first time was in 1981, when he killed Yvonne Johnson – he was convicted of manslaughter after being described as a ‘battered husband’ by the judge. Johnson was able to manipulate the way he was perceived, and only served three years. Then, in 1993, he killed Yvonne Bennett after pleading ‘diminished responsibility’. He was sent to a secure hospital and was released after two years. In 2016 he killed Angela Best, but this time, finally, he has been convicted of murder and sentenced to twenty-six years. It is outrageous that he was able to kill three partners, and that these crimes weren’t even hidden…
Recognising homicide and suicides
Research has found that between four and ten women who have recently suffered domestic violence kill themselves every week in the UK…The first conviction for manslaughter after a suicide was achieved in 2018. Forty-six-year-old Justene Reece killed herself as a result of intolerable and terrifying stalking by her ex-partner, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for manslaughter, stalking and coercive behaviour.” This increases the number of women killed every year by a partner/ex-partner considerably.
“Unfortunately, I’ve seen many deaths recorded as misadventure, accident, suicide, natural causes and so on, where more investigation was needed. So the number of homicides is higher than we think. Consider the case of a woman who was beaten to death in a relentless assault that lasted a couple of days. The official cause of death was given as GBH, rather than homicide, even though she died during the beating. The family, who I have met, are still fighting the police, the courts, the pathologist and anyone else who cannot see the injustice. It is not a case of saying the evidence is not there, as it simply is. For instance, this man called the police and stated: ‘I think I’ve killed my girlfriend.’
#InControl #JaneMoncktonSmith
