Lancashire mum Gemma Freeman had a ‘toxic’ relationship with Alan Cooper, her family said. He was not prosecuted over her death
A much-loved mum who took her own life was earlier told to kill herself by her estranged husband, an inquest has heard, as family members claimed he abused her.
Gemma Freeman left letters saying she intended to end her life ‘because of Alan’, a coroner was told. The 45-year-old met partner Alan Cooper at The Millstone in Darwen in 2010.
Less than a year later, they got engaged while on holiday in Portugal. They married at St Peter’s Church in October 2012 and had three children between them, living together in a new-build home in Maple Mews.
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During an inquest into Ms Freeman’s death at Blackburn Town Hall, area coroner Kate Bisset heard evidence from family members, who described the couple’s relationship as ‘toxic’.
The inquest heard they separated in November last year. On March 21 this year, they met up discuss divorce proceedings. Social worker Ms Freeman, 45, ‘walked away’ when they couldn’t agree terms, the court heard.
The coroner was told Ms Freeman’s mother Sheila Brooks received a call from her daughter’s employer three days later after he failed to log on for a shift.
Mrs Brooks said that was ‘unusual’ and that she ‘just knew something was seriously wrong’. She tragically found her daughter hanged at her home. She had left Easter eggs for family members and letters in which she said she intended to take her own life ‘because of Alan’.
Mrs Brooks added: “It was a toxic relationship. He had been abusing her and I recognised it as psychological abuse.”
Ms Freeman’s daughter Lucy said Mr Cooper, on at least one occasion, told her mother to ‘kill herself’. She added added: “I saw what he did to her, he regularly abused her and it broke her.”
Ms Freeman’s sister Vicky said: “He would turn off the Wi-Fi and the gas when he went to work. In November 2025 she showed me pictures of bruising to her ear and head and said Alan had shoved her.”
The inquest heard that in a message sent to her sister towards the end of the relationship, Ms Freeman said: “He doesn’t give a s*** about the damage he is doing as long as he gets to keep control.”
Police said ‘not enough evidence’ to prosecute
The court heard police launched an investigation following Ms Freeman’s death. Mr Cooper was interviewed under caution, the coroner was told, as detectives considered the potential offence of manslaughter.
Detective Inspector Mark Reid told the inquest: “One element of the case was about Alan’s conduct. There was a question of whether that was criminal conduct.”
Referencing notes left by Ms Freeman, coroner Ms Bisset said: “The notes that Gemma left, certainly in her mind, attributed the relationship to the cause of her death.”
The coroner added: “[Her death] would have to be foreseeable to the person perpetrating that abuse.” Daughter Lucy said: “There was a terrible example of that when he told her to kill herself in no uncertain terms.”
It was ultimately decided the evidence ‘did not cross the criminal threshold’, DI Reid said. Police decided not to seek a prosecution and did not proceed further.
Ms Freeman’s family said that decision was currently subject to a ‘right to review’.
In a statement Mr Cooper, who attended the inquest, said: “Our relationship was, on the whole, good but it went from one extreme to another and there were bad times which were unbelievably bad.
“She was highly strung and I’m stubborn. I regret that stubbornness now.”
Returning a conclusion of suicide, the coroner told Ms Freeman’s family ‘the best justice for Gemma is for [them] to live happy lives’. “She herself attributed the relationship and its breakdown to her death,” Ms Bisset said.
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