Male suspects in female homicide cases 35/2026

FOI Reference: 35/2026

Request 1 - 4:

1) Between 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025, how many men were the suspect in a homicide case where the victim was female? Where possible please provide the age and ethnicity of the male suspect. I am happy for you to redact demographic information in the instances where a case is still active - or cannot be shared for other reasons.

i. Of those cases how many resulted in a:

• • Charge
  • Conviction
  • Other outcome - please specify e.g. diminished responsibility, No Further Action, murder suicide

ii. Please state if the suspect was facing other charges alongside the suspected homicide crime e.g. sexual offences, firearms, or offensive weapons offence. Please specify the charge(s).

2) Between 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025, How many male suspects in homicide cases where the victim was female, were known to the police via a domestic violence marker or domestic violence flag, such as DARA, Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS/Claire's Law)

3) Between 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024, How many male suspects in homicide cases where the victim was female, were known to the police via a domestic violence marker or domestic violence flag, such as DARA, Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS/Claire's Law) etc.

4) Between 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025, how many men were the suspect in a case involving the death of a female where a homicide has not yet been confirmed or the case is still under investigation?

Response 1, 2 & 4:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested; however we are exempting part of that information in regards to questions 1, 2 and 4, as we believe that the following exemptions are relevant:

Section 30(1)(a) Investigations and Proceedings conducted by Public Authorities

Section 30(1)(a) is a class-based qualified exemption. This means that the legislators when writing the legislation considered that the release of such information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would cause harm to the public authority or individual concerned. There is therefore no requirement to carry out a HARM Test in respect of such information. However, there is a requirement to carry out a Public Interest Test in order to establish whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption may be outweighed by a wider public benefit in disclosure.

Section 30(1)(a) Investigations and Proceedings conducted by Public Authorities:

(1) Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it has at any time been held by the authority for the purposes of -

(a) Any investigation which the public authority has a duty to conduct with a view to it being ascertained (i) whether a person should be charged with an offence, or (ii) whether a person charged with an offence is guilty of it.

Public Interest Test

Considerations favouring disclosure:

Disclosure of the information would improve the public’s knowledge and awareness and would provide satisfaction to the public that these cases are investigated thoroughly and offenders are being dealt with accordingly.

Considerations favouring non-disclosure:

This exemption covers information held at any time for the purpose of an investigation, whether the case is ongoing, closed or abandoned. To release specific details of an ongoing investigations, as in this case, could undermine and prejudice those investigations. This would impact on the forces’ future law enforcement capabilities by hindering the prevention or detection of crime.

Balancing Test

After considering the advantages and disadvantages in disclosure, it falls upon Dyfed-Powys Police to conduct a balance test on the issues. The strongest argument for disclosure, which is public awareness, needs to be weighed against the strongest arguments for non-disclosure, which in this case is that the release would undermine and prejudice ongoing investigations, which would impact on the forces’ future law enforcement capabilities by hindering the prevention or detection of crime.

Therefore, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Response 1:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

2 x men were the suspect in a homicide case where the victim was female

Response 1i:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below. Section 30(1)(a) applied where appropriate.

Case 1 – Section 30(1)(a) applied

Case 2 - The 29-year-old male, white British who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, has been bailed as enquiries continue.

Response 1ii:

Section 30(1)(a) applied

Response 2 & 4

Section 30(1)(a) applied

Response 3:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Zero.                                             

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

Furthermore, it should also be noted that Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 22/01/2026)