On January 3, 2024, a man walked into Lewisham police station and told the officers he had killed his wife. Her name was Tia Simmonds and she was the first of 21 women whose deaths have started a murder investigation in London over the last year. Tia – like most women who are killed – died at the hands of a male lover, a group responsible for killing 1.5 women a week in England and Wales.
Tia’s killer will now serve a life sentence with a minimum term of 32 years, the same age Tia was when he drugged her, stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife, then hid her body in their attic and covered it in clothing. “It’s a very disturbing case and one that remains in terms of his motivation very largely unexplained,” barrister Jonathan Higgs KC told the court at the sentencing hearing.
In 2021 The Femicide Census found at least 62 per cent of women killed by men are killed by a partner. They also found the total number of women killed by men each year could be much higher, as sudden deaths (like suicides) in a domestic context are not taken into account. A report from the National Police Chief’s Council in March found the equivalent to one death every four days in their study period.
We want to hear your stories. Please email callum.cuddeford@reachplc.com or WhatsApp 07580255582.
Don’t miss out on the latest crime stories from across London. Sign up to MyLondon’s Court & Crime newsletter HERE.
ASB in London Poll