Kellie Sutton: New inquest finds abuse victim unlawfully killed
The family of a woman who took her own life after domestic abuse said they had "fought for many years" for an inquest to rule she was unlawfully killed.
Kellie Sutton, 30, was found unconscious at the home she shared with partner Steven Gane in Welwyn Garden City on 23 August 2017.
A previous inquest at Hertfordshire Coroner's Court concluded she died by suicide, but this now been overturned.
Ms Sutton's family said the conclusion was "ground-breaking".
It is believed to be the first time an inquest has returned a conclusion of unlawful killing after a woman has taken her own life following domestic abuse.
Groundbreaking ruling in UK domestic abuse case
Kellie Sutton told police that she was ‘very frightened’ of her abusive partner Steven Gane, just weeks before she took her own life.
He was jailed after her death, for controlling and coercive behaviour. And now, in an unprecedented conclusion, an inquest jury has ruled that Kellie was unlawfully killed.
Our Social Affairs Editor Jackie Long reports on a case that Kellie’s family hopes will change the way such domestic abuse cases are handled.
Kellie Sutton ruling, ‘very significant move’, says former victims commissioner
Channel 4 spoke to Dame Vera Baird who formerly served as Solicitor General for England Wales, Victims Commissioner and Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner.