Family says Tiffany Gates was the victim of a murder-suicide at hands of boyfriend

Tiffany Gates' mother is speaking out on behalf of her late daughter who was found dead in a west London apartment in order to protect other women in abusive relationships.

Linda Davidson says she was told by the coroner that her daughter, 30, was shot in the head by her boyfriend in his apartment on Proudfoot Lane. She said she was told there were signs she had tried to defend herself.

"[The coroner] said the wounds were on her arms like she had tried to cover her face, her forearms. But I don't know what happened," Davidson said from her home in the Niagara region. 

London police were first called to the sixth-floor unit at 565 Proudfoot Lane on Sept. 7, where a man and a woman were found dead inside. Since then, police have said both victims died by gunshot, they were known to each other and that the public is not in danger.

Police have refused requests to release the names of the victims, saying this week that the investigation is ongoing. CBC News again asked London police Friday for further details and will update this story when the force responds.

"The detective told me it was a murder-suicide when he came here to Niagara to talk to me," Davidson said. "A lot of her friends are afraid to mention his name because they fear repercussions." 

The City of London declared intimate partner violence and femicide an epidemic this past July, a recommendation put forward by an Ontario coroner's inquest last year. 

"We don't know all the details, but whenever we hear about a woman dying in a violent way like this, it's a concern," said Jessie Rodger, executive director at Anova.

"We are waiting to learn more information but our thoughts are with that young woman's family."

The victim's mother, who called her Tippy, said she worried about her daughter's relationship and urged her to come home. In June, in text messages shared with CBC News, Davidson wrote to her daughter that she was "scared that something is going to happen to you." 

Gates replied that they had broken up and that "nothing is going to happen. He's too worried about his 'career.'"

The family is currently planning her memorial, which will take place on Sept. 23 in Niagara. Her mother said she has rented a hall, with a sit-down dinner for close friends and family. 

"It will be like a wedding because she will never have one," Davidson explains.

Gates' work friends at the downtown London Crabby Joe's location where she worked as a server are also planning a memorial several days later.