Police ruled Charli Powell's death a suicide. The truth was far more sinister.

Content warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: this story may contain images and voices of dead Indigenous people.

In February 2019 Charli Powell's body was found by her boyfriend at a men's toilet block in Queanbeyan near Canberra. 

Just 17 at the time, police ruled her death a suicide.

But for her best friend Kaitlin and her mother Sharon, there was always more to the story. 

"A mother just knows. I can't, I can't put it into words, but I just had that feeling in the pit of my stomach that just has not gone away," Sharon told Dimity Clancey on 60 Minutes. 

"If there's a suicide, an alleged suicide and there's domestic violence involved, it needs to be looked at like a homicide until proven otherwise." 

VIDEO: 60 Minutes investigates the Invisible Deaths. Article continues after video. 

At the time of her death, Charli had been trying to leave her abusive relationship. 

"I think the worst thing I remember was he put her head through a glass table," Charli's best friend, Kaitlin shared with 60 Minutes. 

"Not smashed the glass, smashed her head into the coffee table, like grabbed her head and smashed it into the coffee table, all because she wanted to come see me." 

A few weeks before her death, Charli had made the courageous decision to walk away from her abuser.

"She was back to herself," Kaitlin recalled. "Like, she was so happy and bubbly and back to her normal self."

However, as it so often happens in many domestic violence cases, she reconciled with her boyfriend, just two days before her death. 

Kaitlin said that Charli had reunited with her partner after he told her "how much he loved her and how he was gonna change and how he was sorry and how he wouldn't hit her".

While the events that preceded Charli's death remain unclear, her loved ones maintain that the investigation left out some very key questions. 

Former police officer turned criminal defence lawyer Michael Bartlett revealed that Charli's case is one that he thinks about often and maintains that "the system failed Charli". 

"[Charli] died on the 11th of February, 2019. He was due to appear in court on that assault charge on the 18th of February. And that charge failed and was dismissed. It was dismissed because Charli was dead and couldn't give evidence," Bartlett said.

"The boyfriend was the last person to see her alive. He's the only person who saw her hanging. And he's not considered a person of interest at all. They just let him go with a warrant in existence," he said. 

According to Sharon, Charli's boyfriend was not interviewed at the time her body was discovered, and a forensic autopsy was not conducted. 

"They didn't go to his house, they didn't go and ask any of the neighbours if they'dheard anything. Nothing. It was, from the moment they heard 'suicide, suicide,' and they went withthat, and nothing was gonna change their mind," Sharon said.

UK-based Forensic Criminologist Professor Jane Monckton-Smith who specialises in homicides, coercive control and stalking also weighed in. Monckton-Smith believes that domestic violence cases resulting in suicide deserve to be considered for a charge of manslaughter.

"We're not talking about, you know, name-calling or somebody not being very nice in a divorce proceeding," she said. "We are talking about relentless stalking. We're talking about violence and control and abuse that never ever stops."

"These cases are very hard to prove, but so are homicides," she said.

Monckton-Smith was "shocked" to learn about Charli's case.

"I really was. Irrespective of what actually happened that night, there are questions that should have been asked at the scene, at the time, and subsequently, and answered."

And Charli's tragic death is just one example of the many women who have died following an abusive relationship.

Monckton-Smith believes that globally, there are "hundreds of thousands of Charlis" out there, and that even if the death is ultimately an act of suicide, it "should be counted as a domestic violence homicide" where the abuser is held accountable.

"I see the suicides the same as the homicides," she said. "The predictor for somebody taking their own lives is that they have become trapped and they have lost hope that they will ever get out of this situation."

This year, every six days on average, an Australian woman has died in a domestic violence incident. 

And for every victim who is murdered, there are up to 10 more women who die by suicide in situations where domestic violence is also a factor. And these are some stories we never hear about. 

22-year old Molly Wilkes was one of those women. 

In 2020, Molly moved to Las Vegas with her boyfriend. Her mother Julie Adams was uneasy about the decision, given she had always thought he was controlling, but thought Molly might move back once the relationship didn't work out. 

"I didn't think it was going to end in her death," Julie said. 

"A few days before she died, we had a conversation. And she said she had had some suicidal ideation. She told me what she'd plan to do. And she had stopped herself. And we had a long chat. And we talked about all the things that she had to live for. We talked about bringing her home." 

A few days later, Molly was found dead and her death was ruled a suicide. 

And while that may be true, Julie believes that Molly's abuser should be held accountable for driving her to suicide. There were thousands of messages from Molly's abuser, tearing her down on a daily basis. One in particular said, "I'm going to murder you and spend my life happily in jail."

"It's murder, just using the victim's own hands as a murder weapon. It's putting them in a place where there's no way out, and it's murdering them by proxy," Julie said. 

"Personally, I think he should be convicted and jailed," she added. "He said he'd murder her and go happily to jail for the rest of his life. I think he should get his wish."

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a Queensland-based organisation that helps women and families move on after the devastation of domestic violence. If you would like to support their mission to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most, you can donate here. You can also donate to their Christmas Appeal here.

Feature image: aboutregional / Channel Nine.