Demi’s Law: MSP backs fight to secure justice for tragic mum

­MSP Claire Baker has called on the Justice Secretary to push for Demi’s Law as a lasting legacy for tragic mum Demi Hannaway.

The Labour politician is ­determined lessons will be learned from the dreadful ­mistakes made over the death of Demi, 23, from Airdrie.

Police Scotland treated Demi’s death in May 2021 as ­“nothing more than a tragic suicide” despite knowing of horrific past domestic abuse by her violent partner Andrew Brown.

Demi’s devastated parents, Helen and John, fought for four years, without success, to have the case reinvestigated as a potential homicide.

But after a Sunday Post campaign backed by the Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has now agreed and appointed a ­special team of investigators to look again at the case.

Demi’s family now want to ensure no further mistakes are made in future after the world’s leading expert on hidden and staged homicide, Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, warned ­“hundreds are missed every year”.

© Supplied

Helen said: “After the torment we’ve been through, struggling over the loss of our daughter while trying to investigate what happened to our own child, we don’t want other families to be left facing the same situation.

“We hope, as a fitting legacy for Demi, the Justice Secretary will consider adopting our ­suggestions, which should prevent any reoccurrence of the failures we experienced.

“Demi spent her life helping other people, so we know this is something she would want done. Our lives have been shattered forever, but there would be some small comfort at least knowing that the loss of our daughter may ensure justice for other victims of domestic abuse.”

Baker says she will bring a Bill on Demi’s Law if she has to. But she is asking Scottish Justice Secretary Angela Constance if the government will adopt the suggestions, which include legally requiring police to treat every death where there is any history of domestic abuse as a potential homicide with full forensics and forensic post-mortem.

Demi’s family are calling for a rigorous domestic abuse register for every conviction, so abusers are kept on the radar and monitored, and for domestic abuse experts to attend loss-of-life scenes to support families.

And they want specialist ­counsellors to attend the thousands of warnings police deliver every year to unsuspecting partners informing them of previous domestic violence incidents.

The MSP said: “At the time of Demi’s death, Police Scotland deemed the death to be suicide. A history of domestic abuse carried out by her partner was not taken into consideration and the scene was not treated as a possible crime scene.

“For example, it was Demi’s sister who located Demi’s smashed phone with the SIM card removed, and traced Demi’s social media profiles, which led to the ­subsequent conviction of her partner for threatening and ­abusive behaviour.

“While Demi’s family welcome the reinvestigation of the case, there are challenges as so much evidence was not preserved. The package of measures they suggest for Demi’s Law would seek to prevent similar cases in the future.

“I have written to the Justice Secretary for her views on whether those measures require legislative change or whether they can be achieved through a change of policy, either through government or the leadership at Police Scotland. I believe those measures are ­worthy of consideration.

“Demi’s death was not investigated, and the situation was minimised. This should never happen again, and we need to find ways to make sure this situation is never repeated.”

© Supplied by Hannaway family

Demi’s ­parents had no idea Andrew Brown, 33, had been choking, beating and abusing their daughter because she made her three sisters promise not to tell them.

Hours after they had been told their eldest daughter was dead, Helen and John were shocked to find huge clumps of Demi’s hair scattered about the home she shared with Brown. There were blood spatters on the walls and punch marks on a fridge.

Her mobile phone was found under her bed, smashed and with its SIM card missing. Evidence of abuse on the phone last year helped convict Brown of ­violent attacks on Demi. He is due to be released from prison in September.