A man has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a woman in 2020, in a rare prosecution for alleged domestic abuse linked to the suicide, police said.
Gillian Morand, 36, died in Bexley, south-east London, and an inquest concluded she had taken her own life.
Allegations of domestic abuse 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.
Morand is alleged to have suffered abuse over a “significant period” and that contributed to his death in March 2020, Metropolitan Police said.
DCI Dan Whitten said: “This is a complex investigation with very few charges of this nature authorized across the country.”
He called for anyone who had been in contact with Morand in the decade before his death to contact the force.
Assaf will appear at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Samantha Yelland, senior crown prosecutor in the London CPS homicide unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Seyhan Assaf for manslaughter and controlling or coercive behaviour.
“This decision comes after working closely with the Metropolitan Police as they 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.”
