This year’s National Stalking Awareness Week is focusing on the link between stalking and homicide and suicide. Stalking continues to be overlooked as a contributing factor in cases of homicide and suicide. A report published today (Apr 20th) by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust warns that stalking risks preceding homicide or suicide continue to be missed and calls for clearer frameworks to identify stalking behaviours before they escalate to violence.
Alice’s case illustrates the dangers of escalation all too clearly, and fits closely with the ‘homicide timeline’ model developed by Professor Jane Monckton Smith.
The new report highlights significant gaps in how stalking behaviours are recorded and recognised prior to death even within Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDRs). Existing research identifies stalking as a key high-risk indicator in homicide prevention, particularly in current and ex-partner relationships. The findings reinforce the importance of recognising patterns of stalking early, rather than viewing behaviours as a series of isolated incidents. The report highlights emerging evidence linking stalking to suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse, reinforcing the need for improved recognition beyond policing and across the health sector.
The report also points to a significant gap in understanding stalking outside of family and ex-partner contexts, with limited evidence currently available across other relationship types. There needs to be improved data collection and further research to ensure stalking risk is consistently identified across all case types.
In one study of more than 350 cases of criminal femicides, Jane Monckton Smith’s research highlighted that stalking behaviours were present in 94% of the cases. This and other research underlines the importance of identifying behavioural indicators such as persistence, threats, motivation, and risk-taking at an early stage.
As the report notes, the risks are illustrated by what happened to Alice, who was murdered by an ex-partner following a sustained campaign of stalking. Despite reporting the behaviour to police, it was recorded as harassment rather than stalking, and no protective measures were put in place. A Domestic Homicide Review later concluded that this misidentification was significant in shaping the course of events, affecting risk assessment and the response to escalating behaviour. Despite the risks highlighted in Alice’s case 10 years ago, there have been other tragic cases since, including the murder of Claire Chick in January 2025 by her ex-partner, as well as Gracie Spinks who was murdered by a colleague in 2021.
This year not only marks ten years since Alice’s murder but also seven since the publication of the homicide timeline. The Alice Ruggles Trust supports the call for
• urgent improvements in how stalking is identified, recorded, and responded to;
• more robust training across policing, health, and criminal justice agencies;
• improved guidance for healthcare professionals; and
• better integration of stalking risk within suicide prevention and safeguarding frameworks.
Alice’s father Clive is quoted as saying:
“Ten years ago, my daughter Alice was stalked relentlessly by an ex-boyfriend after she ended their relationship. Over the next three months, the stalking rapidly escalated. He then broke into her flat and killed her. Could her death have been prevented if the right measures had been taken during those three months? I absolutely believe so.
This keeps happening and we need to stop it. We urgently need practitioners across criminal justice and beyond to better understand the risks of stalking and the very real danger of escalation all the way to homicide.
We need police and healthcare professionals to better trained to act appropriately when confronted with stalking cases and we need ongoing research that informs and improves best practice. Until this happens, we will continue to see lives lost unnecessarily, as Alice’s was.”
