Sister's Partner Trapped Her in Flat—She Died at 33 After Desperately Pleading for Help Through the Letterbox: It's Time for Legal Reform

SCREAMING from the letterbox of her boyfriend’s flat, Danielle Haggerty was clearly in a state of distress.

The 33-year-old was locked inside her partner’s home, and just a few hours later, she’d be found dead.

Jonathan Haggery has been left heartbroken since the passing of her sister DanielleCredit: Refer to source Now, Jonathan is on a mission to change the law in hopes of saving othersCredit: Refer to source

Danielle, from Ashton, was a trained hairdresser living in Glossop, , and was visiting her partner, who The Sun has decided not to name.

Thinking back on his sister, Jonathan Haggerty revealed: “She was a lovely little sister. Very friendly, bubbly. She’d light up a room.

“Danielle was only small, but she had a big personality to go with it.”

But on March 13 2023, Danielle was found unresponsive and not breathing after Greater Manchester Police forced entry into the property.

An inquest into her death, concluded at South Manchester Coroners’ Court in Stockport in May last year, heard that a concerned neighbour had rang 999 after hearing a ‘disturbance’ at the flat and stated that he ‘feared for Danielle’s safety’.

The inquest heard Danielle and her boyfriend had been in an ‘on and off relationship’ for about three years at the time of her death.

Assistant Coroner Andrew Bridgman said it was ‘a volatile one with recorded incidents of physical abuse against each of them.’

Police arrived at the flat just over 15 minutes after the call was made, they got no response and forced entry, where they found Danielle unresponsive inside. She was taken to Tameside General Hospital, where she then died on March 16.

A coroner ruled her death was ‘the unintended outcome of an act of self-harm at a time of distress, in the context of a volatile and abusive relationship, and in the immediate aftermath of a violent argument.’

A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but charges were dropped.

The family appealed the decision under the CPS’ Victims Right to Review (VRR) scheme, but the original decision was upheld.

The VRR which has been seen by The Sun, claims that earlier that day, a neighbour had heard Danielle arguing with her boyfriend in his flat.

Concerned, they went outside to investigate.

Jonathan told Fabulous he didn’t even know his sister had a partner, but during the VRR he discovered they had a ‘volatile’ relationship.

Jonathan explains: “We’d lost my eldest brother, Gareth, only a couple of months before. So, she was pleading through the letterbox saying that she wasn’t feeling too good.”

Jonathan had four siblings growing up, but is now the only survivor, his brother, Gareth, had died by suicide just months before Danielle.

“She was suicidal, she was missing Gareth.”

At around 4.45pm, Danielle’s partner came home, and the neighbour heard more shouting, prompting them to call the police.

The house fell silent and the police arrived at 5.03pm – but couldn’t gain entrance until 5.08pm, as the door was locked and they had to force their way inside.

Police found Danielle and she wasn’t breathing. Her boyfriend was arrested shortly afterwards.

He denied being present when she ended her life, or assisting her in any way and was released without charge according to the VRR.

While paramedics were able to start Danielle’s heart again, a CT scan at Tameside showed she had irreversible brain damage, and she died three days later.

Her selfless nature in life would also help others in death, with Danielle’s saving three lives.

It’s thought to have been a cry for help gone wrong, and Jonathan insists the tragic loss could have been prevented if she wasn’t left alone while in distress.

Jonathan, who is in the , believes a legal duty of care would have forced her partner to act and phone for help when Danielle said she was feeling suicidal.

Jonathan says: “I couldn’t imagine just walking away from my wife and leaving her in that situation, not calling for help.”

Jonathan says the law is crucial to help others in Danielle’s positionCredit: Supplied

Now, Jonathan is campaigning to change the so others don’t have to face the same fate as his beloved sister.

Duty to Assist laws refer to individuals having a legal responsibility to take the necessary actions to prevent harm to others or assist someone in peril, as long as they aren’t putting themselves in danger.

This responsibility often arises under a statute or through a contractual relationship, such as between a doctor and a patient or a parent and a child.

In places like and , you could be charged for not helping someone even if you are just a bystander.

The UK currently does not have Duty to Assist laws in place, but Jonathan wants to change this and believes that if these laws were in place, the outcome of the day could have been different.

A new policy called Danielle’s Law, that Jonathan hopes to put forward in the UK, will make it a crime to abandon someone in immediate danger without seeking help.

He adds: “This petition is inspired by Danielle Haggerty’s tragic death. Other countries have ‘duty to rescue’ laws that protect vulnerable people and encourage intervention to save lives.

“Introducing a similar law in the UK would prevent tragedies and ensure that anyone in immediate danger has someone legally required to try to save them so that no-one would ever be knowingly left alone to die.”

Jonathan adds: “I want to make something positive out of what happened to Danielle, I’ve still got a bit of fight left in me and she would do it for me.”