Mum's heartbreak as daughter kills herself after ex-boyfriend controlled life
Taking pride of place in Sharon Holland’s living room is a large picture of her daughter Chloe. At first glance the young woman in the slouchy grey jumper, holding her cheeky little boy with his arms outstretched, looks happy and content. But, with hindsight, Sharon, 51, can tell something is wrong. She says: “She just looks withdrawn. I didn’t see it before. She looks so thin and her eyes look tired. It’s upsetting.” The photograph was taken in the summer of 2022. By March the next year Chloe was dead.
Aged 23, Chloe Holland took her own life after sustained abuse by ex-boyfriend Marc Masterton. He controlled what she wore, who she saw and he assaulted her. He tracked Chloe’s phone, hit her with a dumbbell and told her to kill herself – at one point handing her a knife. Eventually she did. Masterton, 26, was sentenced to 41 months after admitting coercive and controlling behaviour last August.
Chloe took her life aged just 23-years-old (FAMILY COLLECT)But for the grieving grandmother, who can now only cuddle her daughter in the form of a teddy bear containing her ashes, this is hardly justice. “He gets out next January and he’s literally caused the death of my daughter,” claims Sharon. "It’s very unfair, justice hasn’t been served. We need to prevent this from happening with higher sentences.”
Sharon, of Portsmouth, Hants, is now calling on the Government to introduce Chloe’s Law – a new offence of “manslaughter by coercive control”. Her pleas echo one of the key demands in our Justice For Our Daughters campaign. The Mirror is calling for domestic abusers to face manslaughter charges – and tougher sentences – whenever they drive someone to take their own life, whether through existing or new laws. The issue is complicated as under current law someone can be charged with “unlawful act” manslaughter, which could mean someone may face court if their abuse directly drove someone to suicide.
Devastated mum Sharon holding the bear which contains her daughter Chloe's ashes (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)The Ministry of Justice has rejected calls for Chloe’s Law as it says existing legislation can be used to the same end. But campaigners have pointed out that there have been no unlawful act manslaughter convictions connected to coercive control – despite women who suffer domestic abuse being three times more likely to try to kill themselves. Sharon hopes a new law would lead to more convictions. Chloe met Masterton at school but they only started dating in January 2022.
Met Police sacks 17 new recruits over 'inappropriate morals and ethics'
Sharon’s “happy, lively and energetic” daughter soon began to change. She stopped doing her nails and getting eyelash extensions which on the surface is insignificant, but in hindsight was a marker of the dark cloud of Masterton’s coercive control. Masterton isolated her from friends and family, including her four-year-old son from a former relationship. In July 2022, Chloe rang her mum saying Masterton gave her a black eye and she had reported him to police. But she was soon back with him. In the following weeks, the pattern continued until she moved to a hostel. But that November, Masterton won her back yet again. Then in January last year, Chloe made a video statement to Hampshire Police detailing her abuse.
Marc Masterson was jailed last yearBut on February 1, 2023, a friend said Chloe had live-streamed her intention to take her own life. Panicked, Sharon called police, who found her daughter in nearby woods and rushed her to hospital. “He was on the phone to her before she did it,” says Sharon. Chloe spent five weeks on life support at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandria Hospital before dying on March 6. “It was the hospital that got me, that was the most traumatic part,” says Sharon. As the end neared, she took Chloe’s son, who we have chosen not to name, to see her. “He always used to call her Chloe because he thought it was funny. That time her son was actually calling her mummy," says Sharon. "We used to have our moments like any mother and daughter, but just not speaking to her anymore, and at Christmas her not seeing her boy and giving him presents... it breaks my heart.”
Portsmouth crown court heard Masterton’s abuse had led to the demise of Chloe’s mental health. Sharon is working with Sophie Naftalin, a criminal justice lawyer at Bhatt Murphy who specialises in police accountability, to get a more detailed coroner’s inquest into why her daughter died. They fear many authorities don’t immediately consider manslaughter in suicide cases and feel that the existence of a specific offence of ‘manslaughter by coercive control’ may just raise extra awareness around the issue.
Sophie says: “The law as it currently stands does not rule out manslaughter as a possible charge in these circumstances. [But] a statutory offence of manslaughter following coercive control may encourage police officers and prosecutor to think more carefully about the offences available to them. It just might not occur to them to arrest someone for manslaughter, when they find a dead body of someone who’s obviously died from suicide. In terms of like awareness raising, I think it might make a huge difference on the ground. "
The Ministry of Justice says: “We’ve toughened up the law to better protect domestic abuse victims and punish perpetrators and those who drive their partners to suicide already face prosecution for manslaughter.” For Sharon and other victims families it’s about seeing the law used to its full extent, whether an existing one or a new one. She has also started a Facebook group ‘Coercive and Controlling Behaviour Contributing to Suicide’ but there is nothing that can heal the devastating loss of Chloe. “It just changed my life for ever,” Sharon says. “She was my child!”.
If you are struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
