Wesley Holmes

Claire Aleks, a vulnerable mother from Rhyl, died by suicide in July 2022 after 11 months of physical and psychological abuse by her partner, Kathryn White. The couple met on Tinder, but White gradually controlled Aleks's communications, movements and relationships, isolating her from family and friends and subjecting her to threats and violence. Aleks reported the abuse after a confrontation in which White grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to a wall; she died four days after returning home. Liverpool Crown Court found White guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour and heard that the abuse significantly contributed to Aleks's death. Despite White's depression, anxiety, ADHD and history of sexual trauma being presented in mitigation, Judge Gary Woodhall described her conduct as a prolonged campaign of abuse marked by a lack of remorse and sentenced her to three years and six months in prison.