STOISITS: FAMILY MEMBERS INSUFFICIENTLY INFORMED BY POLICE

A mother turned to the Ombudsman Board after both her sons had died under tragic circumstances: the elder son had died after accidentally falling out of a window. The police suspected suicide. A short while after the incident the younger son was also found dead: he supposedly had caused the death himself after having overdosed on drugs. In both cases the course of events seemed questionable.

The mother turned to the Ombudsman Board because the police investigating the case had informed her about the course of events. In both cases the police officers had informed the father but not the mother. Mother and father live in separation.

The responsible Ombudswoman instituted a procedure and also obtained a statement by the Ministry for the Interior clarifying the general criteria according to which police communicate with relatives of (presumed) crime victims or persons (presumably) having committed suicide.

In her statement the Federal Minister assumed that the relatives had been informed accordingly by the police since the father had been informed. However, the responsible Ombudswoman deemed the complaint as legitimate: the Federal Minister’s opinion may be adequate in cases of orderly family set-up. However, in cases where the parents live in separation it cannot be automatically assumed that one parent informs the other after having been informed by the authorities. Further, it would have been adequate to investigate in the younger son’s familial environment and also question the mother in order to clarify the events linked to the suicide.