DV cases show increase in homicides (Tampa, Florida)

Many of the cases cited in this article have been discussed here at Dastardly Dads. Domestic violence homicides in Hillsborough, County Florida doubled in 2008 over 2007, and have increased in the state of Florida, too. All the major statistical findings are highlighted in bold.

And for stupid people who keep asking, "Why doesn't she just leave?" --Please note that 75% of the homicides involved the victim showing "signs of independence." Though the numbers are unclear, it appears that 4 of the victims were mothers ("parents"), and 16 were children.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/24/domestic-violence-cases-show-increase-homicides/news-breaking/

Domestic violence cases show an increase in homicides

By RAY REYES The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2009

TAMPA - Over the last three years, an increasing number of abusive relationships in Hillsborough County ended on a specific, tragic note.

The sound of gunfire.

This year, several relationships taking a deadly turn made headlines: a mother shot dead earlier this month in her Tampa home while holding her 18-month-old daughter; a woman in Ruskin gunned down while sitting in a truck; a man accused of choking his girlfriend, taking her son and tossing the baby out of a car window.

"It's a huge problem," said former Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy Rod Reder. "The homicides generally happen during or right after the break-up. You've got a large county, but it's not like you have a domestic violence homicide every day. You have the potential for it every day."

In 2007, there were eight domestic violence homicides in Hillsborough County. In 2008, there were 16, said Nikki Daniels, the executive director of the Family Justice Center in Hillsborough County.

Numbers for the county for 2009 are not yet available, Daniels said, because her organization is still reviewing cases.

Statewide, there have been 86 domestic violence homicides this year compared to a total of 79 in 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

There is no specific reason for the rise in killings, but Reder said the recession and the tension caused by financial struggles may be a factor.

"Victims have fewer options when times are tough," said Reder, who now trains law enforcement officers in identifying domestic violence cases that have the potential to become homicides.

Daniels said a woman dependent on an abuser for money will have a hard time finding a job to support herself and her children in the current economy. About 50 percent of homeless women and children are living on the streets because of domestic violence, she said.
The Family Justice Center helped one such woman who filed an injunction against her boyfriend and kicked him out of the house, Daniels said. But the man would not pay child support and the woman could not afford to pay the electric bill.

"She told me she would have to 'take his punches' so she could have a home and feed the baby," Daniels said.

But there are patterns leading to abuse that are more visible and conclusive than others, experts said.

Out of 1,743 cases nationwide in 2007, more than 51 percent of homicides were committed with a gun, according to report by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., which studied data compiled by the FBI. Knives and other cutting instruments accounted for 21 percent of the slayings, bodily force 14 percent and blunt objects 7 percent.

The perpetrators themselves follow a common pattern of suppressing their partners' independence with insults, threats and beatings in order to keep power and control, Daniels said.
And when the victims finally had enough, when they found the nerve to break up with them and seek help or shelter, the abusers took it as a sign that they had lost control, Daniels said.

The men then took extreme steps to regain it, Reder said.

Some stalk their old flames. Others decide to snuff them out.

"A very, very small percentage goes to that extreme," said Reder, who now trains law enforcement officers in domestic violence prevention. "Most of them are smart enough to walk away."

In 75 percent of domestic violence cases that end in homicide, the victims showed signs of independence such as filing for an injunction, divorce or breaking up with their partners, Daniels said.

"And people wonder why the women don't leave," she said.

SaQuanda Simon, 29, did. But the pattern of control experts describe manifested on March 2, a day after Simon broke up with Cedrick Bontray Salter—the father of her twins—after Salter threatened to stab her in the neck with a screwdriver, court records show.

Investigators say Salter, 28, again threatened and stalked Simon that day at her work and Grant Park home.

Simon asked prosecutors to drop the charges against Salter, saying he deserved a second chance.
"We do not have any past violent situations, he is a good father and provider," Simon wrote to prosecutors. "Cedrick is not perfect, he has made a mistake and is very remorseful."

It is common for women to ask prosecutors to drop charges because of fear and, in some cases, financial dependence, Daniels said.

"Combine all of those factors with the love the victim has for the abuser, the hopes she had for a future together when they committed to each other, and it's a recipe for disaster," Daniels said.

On Sept. 8, Salter broke into Simon's home after trying to reach her all day by phone, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies say. He confronted her in the bedroom and fatally shot Simon as she held their daughter in her arms, deputies say.

Salter has been charged with first degree murder and is being held without bail.

In another case, a woman was shot by her ex-boyfriend, William Privett, while she sat in a truck in Ruskin on Sept. 13, deputies say. Shirley Sexton, 27, was critically injured. Her new boyfriend, Eric Brewer, who was in the truck with her, was killed.

Privett is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and shooting into an unoccupied vehicle.

Sexton's and Previtt's relationship was also stormy, and featured the patterns of escalating violence, court records show. In January 2006, Sexton was cut after a rock was thrown at her face. Privett was charged in the incident, but Sexton did not press charges, records show.

Fourteen months later, Privett grabbed Sexton during an argument about dinner, pushed her into a wall, pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot her and her two children, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

Prosecutors say charges against Privett were dropped after Sexton refused to cooperate.

Experts say the case of Richard McTear Jr.—accused of beating and choking his girlfriend on May 5 then taking her baby and tossing the child out of a car onto Interstate 275—had indications the abuse had the potential to result in a death.

The baby's mother, Jasmine Bedwell, dated McTear for about nine months and said their relationship was violent, court records show. McTear, who was not the child's father, had threatened Bedwell and told her he was going to break into her apartment and kill her and the baby, detectives say.

McTear may have targeted the child because "he was trying to go for what's dearest in her heart," Daniels said.

Reder, the former Hillsborough deputy, said budget cuts make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to implement or further develop prevention programs.

"There's a lot less training available," Reder said. "We need to identify high-risk people and find out why they slip through the cracks."

Daniels said even non-profits and shelters are strapped for cash, limiting the ability to help victims in dire situations. Daniels, who chairs the county's Domestic Violence Fatality Review, said her panel is developing a report on homicides that will be presented to county commissioners and law enforcement.

"It really is a complicated crime," she said. "Most crimes are not committed by someone the victim loves."

BY THE NUMBERS

86

-domestic violence homicides in 2009

79
domestic violence homicides in 2008

28
spouses killed this year

24
people listed as "co-inhabitants" killed

4
parents killed

15
children killed
Source: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement