A man has been charged with manslaughter over the death of a woman in 2020, in a rare prosecution of alleged domestic abuse linked to suicide, police have said.
Gillian Morand, 36, died in Bexley, south-east London, and an inquest concluded she had taken her own life.
Allegations of domestic abuse that Morand had previously suffered then came to light and Scotland Yard launched an investigation.
Seyhan Assaf, 45, of Berwick Crescent, Sidcup, south-east London, has been charged with manslaughter and coercive or controlling behaviour.
It is alleged Morand was abused over a “significant period” and that it contributed to her death in March 2020, the Metropolitan police said.
DCI Dan Whitten said: “This is a complex investigation with very few charges of this nature authorised across the country.”
He asked for anyone who was in contact with Morand in the decade before her death to contact the force.
Assaf will appear at Bromley magistrates court on Saturday.
Samantha Yelland, senior crown prosecutor in the CPS London homicide unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Seyhan Assaf with manslaughter and controlling or coercive behaviour.
“This decision comes after working closely with the Metropolitan police as they have carried out their investigation into the death of Gillian Morand.
“Our prosecutors worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring these charges to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
