Facing a situation many families can never imagine a north Wales family is trying to restrict how involved a parent who has murdered can be in their child's life. The Flintshire family is hoping to change the laws after Russell Marsh murdered his estranged wife Jade Marsh as NorthWalesLive reports.
Jade was stabbed and strangled to death by Russell, who has since been sentenced to life, in August 2021. Despite being locked up for his crimes Russell still has parental responsibility for the four sons he shared with Jade.
He still has control over medical needs and if the children can leave the country. This means if the family wanted to take the boys aboard they would have to get permission from Russell through a family court hearing.
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Currently the laws in the UK mean that imprisonment does not automatically restrict parental responsibility, parental responsibility is only given up by voluntary agreement or if the other parent takes the sentenced parent to court. Jade's family is now working to make "Jade's Law" a reality.
They hope to ensure that no other family will have to remain in contact with their loved one's killer, long after the crime is committed. Law graduate and family friend Edwin Duggan with Jade's mum Karen Robison have launched a petition calling for the automatic suspension of parental responsibility of any parent found guilty of murdering the other parent.
Edwin told NorthWalesLive: "I've therefore known Jade since she was young. What happened to the family was utterly tragic...We all want this change in the law to create some sort of measure for future children that find themselves involved in tragic circumstances such as these and their surviving family from having to go back through further court processes."
You can find and sign the petition, which currently has over 1,600 signatures, here.
