Sharp rise in numbers murdered by family

The number of people murdered by a family member rose by more than half in the year to March 2022, a report has found.

The second annual report by the Domestic Homicide Project also said that the number of suspected suicides among domestic violence victims rose by 28 per cent, or 14 deaths, in the same period compared with the previous 12 months.

It said that while homicide by an intimate partner was the most common scenario for domestic killings with 103 deaths in 2021/22, there was no significant rise in this crime type from the previous year.

But the number of people being killed by a family member rose by 55 per cent to 62 deaths.

Dr Lis Bates, lead author and reader in interpersonal violence at the University of Central Lancashire, said: "This report shows that, persistently, 100 people a year are dying at the hands of their intimate partners."