Review finds GPs must be alert for signs of domestic violence after estranged husband who had tormented his wife for years killed her and their daughter, 19, before turning the gun on himself
- Lance Hart, 57, shot his wife of 26 years, Claire, and daughter Charlotte, 19
- Review recommended frontline practitioners do more to stop domestic violence
- Found that Mrs Hart, 50, and her daughter were subject to years of mental abuse
Bully: Controlling husband Lance Hart, 57, shot dead his wife Claire, 50, and their 19-year-old daughter Charlotte before turning the weapon on himself in Spalding on July 19
GPs must do more to spot signs of domestic abuse after a man shot dead his estranged wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself, a review has found.
Lance Hart shot his wife of 26 years, Claire days after she decided to leave him, before he turned the shotgun on Charlotte, his 19-year-old daughter.
A Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) conducted by Lincolnshire Council has recommended frontline practitioners should do more to intervene in domestic abuse cases.
Mrs Hart, 50, and Charlotte had been subjected to years of mental abuse before they were shot near the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding, Lincolnshire in July 2016.
The council said the behaviour of Hart, 57, was ‘endemic’ and that he was ‘not known by professionals’.
To jain a wider public understanding of domestic abuse, the DHR suggested the local safeguarding children’s board should make requests to schools about running ‘awareness sessions’.
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Tragedy: Charlotte, 19, who described her mother as her ‘best friend’, was killed in the car park of their local swimming pool
Crime scene: A witness described seeing a man believed to be Hart hiding under a car just minutes before he opened fire outside the Castle sports centre in Spalding, pictured
DHR made recommendations but the review found no specific failings leading up to the deaths of Claire or Charlotte.
Two days after the shootings, Mrs Hart’s sons Luke and Ryan were in Spalding police station when they saw a poster about domestic abuse which ‘described our father in perfect detail’.
Ryan previously said: ‘We thought about the controlling and coercive behaviour and how it was used to isolate us from each other, our extended family and to control us financially… that’s when we realised we were victims of abuse.
‘Throughout our entire lives, the abuse became normalised. It was only when we saw that poster that we realised he was the perfect example of an abuser… that our entire lives had been one of domestic abuse.’
Cruel: Mrs Hart and her daughter had suffered horrific injuries in the attack, which was planned in advance
Charlotte Hart (front right) with her brothers Luke Hart (back right) and Ryan Hart (front left)
Referring to the lessons learned from the shootings, the DHR said: ‘Although controlling and coercive behaviour is now embedded within domestic abuse definitions, it appears to be the least understood aspect of the overall domestic abuse and safeguarding legislation and where all professionals need to think wider and seek to explore individuals with greater curiosity.
‘Frontline practitioners in particular need to be more alert to the signs and symptoms of these behaviours and be able to highlight possible triggers and subtle inferences and make appropriate referrals.’
The recommendations section of the DHR says: ‘This was a tragedy that it appears nobody could foresee yet Claire, Luke, Ryan and Charlotte had been suffering intense domestic abuse for many years and didn’t know this was what they were suffering as there was no physical abuse.
‘The behaviour by the perpetrator was endemic and was not known by professionals, nor sadly, was it understood by members of the family.’
Brave: Hart shot the women as they left a swimming pool and as she lay next to her dead mother Charlotte’s final words were: ‘It was my dad who shot me’
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