A heartbroken mother whose son was stabbed to death by his fiancée has issued a plea for more refuge spaces to be established throughout the UK to support male victims of domestic violence. Devastated Jose Linnane, 67 reportedly screamed "like an animal" when police informed her that her 23-year-old son, Simon Gilchrist, had tragically been murdered in his flat.
The victim's killer was his abusive fiancée, Caroline Mawhood, who fatally stabbed him in the heart in his flat in York in 2004 after she came home from a night out, the Mirror reports. With only 269 male domestic abuse support units across the UK, Mrs Linnane is pleading for more refuge facilities to open in a bid to help prevent further deaths.
According to the charity, ManKind, London does not have a single safe place for male victims of domestic violence. Mrs Linnane, from York, told the Mirror: "For women I believe there's a refuge in every city or town.
