Woman Kills Herself After Testifying Against Sex Abuser

A mother of four has killed herself in Britain after testifying that her former music teacher had sexually abused her years ago, the Telegraph reports. The body of Frances Andrade, 48, was discovered just days after she testified that Michael Brewer, 68, had regularly fondled her in the 1970s. The jury was not told of her death until after passing its verdict: guilty on one count of indecent assault but not guilty on five others due to insufficient evidence regarding dates.

Andrade had a difficult time on the witness stand under the grilling of a prosecuting attorney Kate Blackwell, who called her a liar and a fantasist. "You are hugely insulting, even though it's your job," Andrade told her. Now a charity for the abused and a senior British lawyer are calling on courts to change the way they handle sex abuse cases, the BBC and Guardian report. Despite her previous suicide attempts, Andrade was apparently told by police not to receive therapy until after the nearly two-year case was complete. (Read about an Army captain who testified that a general threatened to kill her if she revealed their sometimes-abusive relationship.)