The parents of a Darlington teenager whose suicide was linked with an emotionally abusive relationship have said the “postcode lottery” of poor coroners' services needs fixing.

The call comes after Roisin Hunter Bennett's parents won a legal battle to have abuse named as a factor in her death.

Roisin took her own life in March 2022, when she was only 19. A budding optician and loving daughter, Roisin had been in a “turbulent and abusive” relationship for two years previously, which she had ended shortly before her death.

In early 2023, at an inquest into her death, Assistant Coroner James Thompson found that Roisin had taken her life motivated by “the ending of a relationship and the pressure of balancing work and studying for exams” a conclusion which her family strongly disagreed with.

Now, devastated parents Margaret Hunter and Dr Tony Bennett are fighting for changes in guidance to coroners on emotional and domestic abuse, after a High Court judge overruled the coroner’s conclusion, deciding that her low mood was due to “an emotionally abusive relationship”.

(Image: Family handout)

The pair have been left “utterly heartbroken” at the death of their only daughter and felt let down by the Assistant Coroner’s initial findings.

Ms Hunter, Roisin’s mother, said: “Our lives have been destroyed by the suicide of our only child Roisin, our hearts are broken, I feel a large part of me died too when Roisin died.

“The protracted legal processes following her death have left us raging with anger at how hard we have had to fight to have our voices heard, this continues to further compound our daily pain and suffering.”

At the High Court, the Assistant Coroner agreed that in distilling a brief neutral summary of his findings, he had “overlooked” recording that a feature of the relationship was that it was emotionally abusive. In front of the High Court judge, the defendant accepted that he should have recorded this fact.

(Image: Family handout)

Roisin’s family now want the Chief Coroner to issue guidance on domestic abuse-linked suicides, so coroners have a “consistent understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control.”

Ms Hunter added: “A national coroners service is needed to stop the postcode lottery and improve training so coroners understand coercive and controlling behaviour and they can set a wide enough scope at an inquest so this can be detected.

"It is vital that coroners look at why someone took their own life, not just if they did or not. This is especially important in cases where domestic abuse may be a factor.

“I think there needs to be improvements going forward, so that other families do not have to go to the lengths we have had to. Possibly not all families would have the strength to keep going as me and Tony have, or the resources and support system available to do so.

“This in turn makes it an inherently unfair system. But ultimately getting to that point is entirely avoidable with the changes we're calling for.”

Roisin, one of the country’s youngest students studying for her dispensing optician exams, had a bright future ahead of her that her family believe was “stolen.”

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Since the High Court ruling, Durham Police have reopened an investigation into Roisin’s death.

The couple paid tribute to their “feisty, fun and cheeky” daughter, saying: “Roisin was our world and me and her dad both miss her with every breath we take, our hearts are truly broken.

“We now both just live for the sake of living. It was the honour of our lives as her parents to watch our beautiful daughter Roisin grow.”