Most murders of battered women happen when they leave or shortly thereafter

52 posts / 0 new

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:38

martin dufresne

Despite the "Why doesn't she just leave?" meme (excellent answers here) , statistics indicate that most battered women are killed by their assaulter at the time they leave or shortly thereafter.

Despite this well-known information, authorities routinely underestimate the lethality of these men and the risks to the women and children they torment. This is especially evident in court decisions that indiscriminately award batterers visiting/custody rights, in men being sprung from jail without forewarning their victims and in at-best sloppy responses to calls for help and support.

This sloppiness was confirmed again yesterday in St-Jean-de-Matha (Quebec), when a 67-yr old woman was knifed to death by the man she was in the process of divorcing. It happened when when she returned home to move out her things, accompanied by a Sûreté du Québec police officer.

Although the police had been called there the day before for yet another flare-up of wife battering, that asshat cop left the woman alone to go move his car out of the driveway. Her husband immediately killed her.

This has happened before in Quebec. Why isn't there a strictly-enforced protocol demanding that police officers never leave a victim alone with her assaulter in such a high-risk situation? Why aren't batterers taken away until a battered woman has had the time to get out of harm's way?

If there is, we certainly won't know about it, since the Sûreté du Québec has adopted the now familiar "cover thy butt" stance.

Similar stories in your neck of the woods or is this a Quebec quirk?

Wed, 2009-08-19 17:49

Michelle

Are you saying that out of all the battered women there are out there, MOST of them get killed by their partners when they leave? Most of them? That's, like, millions of women, isn't it?

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:11

G. Muffin

Michelle wrote:
Are you saying that out of all the battered women there are out there, MOST of them get killed by their partners when they leave? Most of them? That's, like, millions of women, isn't it?

I did a double take, too. I take it to mean that, if a women is killed by her partner, it's most likely to happen as she leaves. There is another creepy and similar statistic re the 24 hours following a restraining order being imposed.

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:34

martin dufresne

Yes, that is what I meant - sorry for the faulty construction. The reference group is women that are killed by their batterer, not all battered women.

Montreal Gazette coverage of this story.

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:35

Michelle

I thought maybe that's what he meant too - that of all homocides committed by men against domestic partners, most of them occurred when the woman left or shortly thereafter. But that's definitely NOT what the title of this thread or the opening sentence says. So I just wanted to clarify.

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:36

Michelle

No worries, Martin! I'll see if I can figure out how to change the thread title without making it too long or awkward. :)

And part of me was thinking, holy crap, I wonder if that IS true and I just didn't know it? :D

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:37

martin dufresne

Feel free to correct it, as in "Most murders of battered women happen when they leave or shortly thereafter".

Wed, 2009-08-19 18:38

Michelle

Ah, that's even better than what I changed it to! I'll change it to yours now. :)

Wed, 2009-08-19 22:27

remind

Quote:
A former Calgarian being sought by California police in the death of a model pleaded guilty to assault in his hometown three years ago, and was charged with domestic battery in Nevada.

Police in Buena Park, a city southeast of Los Angeles, are looking for Ryan Jenkins, 32, as a "person of interest" in the death of Jasmine Fiore, 28.

A man looking for recyclable materials in a metal trash bin found Fiore's naked body in a suitcase on Saturday morning. Police said she appears to have been strangled.

Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore, said the couple got married in Las Vegas in March but got the union annulled in May. She said Jenkins convinced Fiore to take him back.

Jenkins reported Fiore missing to the police on Saturday evening. She was last seen with Jenkins at a poker game in San Diego on Friday night, said Lt. Gary Worrall of the Buena Park Police Department.

...Jenkins was charged with assault causing bodily harm in an incident with his girlfriend at the time in 2005. He pleaded guilty to common assault and was ordered to take psychological counselling for domestic violence and treatment for sex addiction, according to court documents.

He was also ordered not to contact the victim or go to her home or workplace.

Court records in Nevada show Jenkins has a court date on Dec. 18 for a trial on a misdemeanor. According to the Orange County Register, Jenkins was charged with battery constituting domestic violence against Fiore for allegedly hitting her "in the arm with his fist."

Reality show contestant

Thu, 2009-08-20 16:01

#10

martin dufresne

More on this. The guy is now reportedly hiding in British Columbia, probably waiting for a suitable offer from Hollywood to use his story in a block-buster entertainment vehicle, soon on a screen near you.

_____________________

"Smash Patriarchy and have a Nice Day!"

Thu, 2009-08-20 16:36

#11

remind

The media is really trying to down play this guy's former history of battering women, even ging so far as to have a family members comment aired about what a kind and gentle sole he is. I mean wtf is that anyway? Making no bones about classism, as long as you are rich you can get good press cpoverage even when the police in 2 countries are looking for you.

Thu, 2009-08-20 19:15

#12

SparkyOne

martin dufresne wrote:

More on this. The guy is now reportedly hiding in British Columbia, probably waiting for a suitable offer from Hollywood to use his story in a block-buster entertainment vehicle, soon on a screen near you.

_____________________

"Smash Patriarchy and have a Nice Day!"

huh?

Thu, 2009-08-20 19:28

#13

remind

He was figuring he was going to become a big Hollywood star after his stint on that reality show.

And sarcastic rejoinder on how some men's privilege knows no bounds, even if it takes killing a woman to fulfill their desires.

Fri, 2009-08-21 10:14

#14

remind

This story is getting uglier by the minute.

Quote:
reality TV star charged with murdering his bikini model ex-wife allegedly severed her fingers and removed her teeth to make it harder to identify her, cops said Thursday night.

Sat, 2009-08-22 12:41

#15

Doug

No kidding. It's revealed now that the only way they could identify the body was by using the serial on her breast implants. I didn't know they had serial numbers and neither did the murderer, it seems.

Sat, 2009-08-22 15:16

#16

remind

I knew that breast implants had serial numbers, and even figured it must be the way they identified her, if her face had not been mutilated too, they could have easily identified her. She is not exactly unknown.

Sat, 2009-08-22 15:20

#17

martin dufresne

remind: sarcastic rejoinder on how some men's privilege knows no bounds, even if it takes killing a woman to fulfill their desires

AND a sarcastic rejoinder on how our culture thrives on violence against women as entertainement and on misogynists as full-fledged artists.

Sun, 2009-08-23 21:31

#18

martin dufresne

There is.

Sun, 2009-08-23 21:40

#19

remind

HUH?

Sun, 2009-08-23 21:43

#20

remind

Jenkins has been found dead in a motel room, in Hope.

Sun, 2009-08-23 21:53

#21

martin dufresne

There is hope.

Mon, 2009-08-24 10:47

#22

remind

apparently he had some sort of woman accomplice, who got the motel room for him and then left.

License plates were from AB too.

Mon, 2009-08-24 15:19

#23

Doug

Poor baby couldn't face jail, I suppose.

Mon, 2009-08-31 20:33

#24

martin dufresne

Colin Thatcher still claims innocence. Interesting how he obtained custody after a first murder attempt on his wife.

Mon, 2009-08-31 21:13

#25

remind

Colin Thatcher.......grr

Mon, 2009-08-31 23:29

#26

Fidel

I witnessed breakup rage first-hand. I moved into a rooming house a number of years ago. I didnt realize what the situation was between the man and who I assumed to be his wife and their daughter. I learned later that it was only a bf-gf thing, and that he had a family of his own and was basically homeless if it wasnt for his arrangement with my landlady and her seven year-old. One night she'd had enough of him for whatever reason, and out the door he went after much comotion, breaking furniture and tearing front door off hinges. A day or two later he came back while three of us including landlady were playing cards at the table. I wasnt afraid of him so much as concerned as he was/is a big man physically and with temper none of us knew about until that point. He could have hurt any one of us in the house that night that he came back for his things. Luckily for all of us he merely busted a window in the front door in a fit of anger.

Mon, 2009-08-31 23:42

#27

martin dufresne

Lucky for your landlady there were three of you there.

Does it still count as "rage" if it is meticulously planned over weeks or months, including hiring a hit man and setting up an alibi? I think words like "self-interest", "spite", "envy" and "cold hatred" are more appropriate.

Mon, 2009-08-31 23:48

#28

Fidel

The word premeditated comes to mind.

Tue, 2009-09-01 00:15

#29

martin dufresne

Exactly. And I think this influences the conventional media treatment of such murders. Pointing out the elements of these crimes that attest to premeditation can make their employer liable for slander charges, especially when prosecutors so often plea-bargain lesser accusations. So rather than emphasize those facts, they err on the side of caution by using as fill speculation on emotional factors (e.g. "rage") that are the precise opposite of premeditation.

And even where there is no premeditation and "rage" seems to be the relevant explanation, service providers who "work with" batterers point out that these men give themselves permission to express it against women, which they almost never do at cops or bosses.

Tue, 2009-09-01 09:37

#30

remind

For those that know Colin Thatcher, it really comes down to, his sense of privilege and absolute authority know no bounds.

Tue, 2009-09-01 09:59

#31

B9sus4

I met Dr. Bob Hare in the 70s when psychopathy was a fairly new area of concern. I think he estimated psychopathy at about 1 or 2 percent of the population. I am more than willing to bet that now, after an additional 30 years of insane media conditioning, the slice is up to 10 or 15 percent. The triumph of right wing thinking means that the abuse of women (and children and old people and minorities and LGBT etc., etc.) is of course going up. Wingerism is based on the predation of all by cliques of psychopaths and their clones (ie., those who are not actually testably psychopathic but emulate a psychopathic lifestyle promulgated at large by the big psychos who control the vast media empires.) Yes, I insist it all comes down to media. If not for the constant promotion of antisocial themes, it seems likely to me that the base population of testable psychopaths would remain at about 1 or 2 percent. The terrible thing is that 'wingers, through their absolute control of the media, are allowed to poison the waters by asserting that their way is "normal" while ours is not. The masses, who after all don't study very much (in that they don't have the time to, for one thing), have little choice but to believe what they are told by the ubiquitous MSM. The hated of women is the bedrock issue of the big media. Women to the oligarchs are commodity, nothing more. (I'm guessing they exclude their own mothers and sisters from this but how can I be sure? I don't actually know any billionaire banksters personally. )

Tue, 2009-09-01 20:20

#32

Coyote

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8232250.stm]Horrible[/url].

And chilling in relation to [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/babble-banter/dont-mess-your-relationship-facebo... thread[/url].

From the first link:

Quote:

A mother-of-four was murdered by her partner days after she changed her Facebook status from "married" to "single", a court has heard.

Hayley Jones, 26, was found by her children at the family home. She had been fatally stabbed.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Brian Lewis, 31, killed her after telling friends he could not stand to lose her to another man.

Tue, 2009-09-01 22:12

#33

Michelle

That's true. I think we had an earlier thread on this very case, Coyote. Let me see if I can find it.

Tue, 2009-09-01 22:15

#34

Michelle

Here it is.

Tue, 2009-09-01 22:31

#35

Coyote

Thanks for the link, Michelle.

Tue, 2009-09-01 22:47

#36

martin dufresne

Here again we have the article describing the murderer as unable to do otherwise - "Cardiff Crown Court heard that Brian Lewis, 31, killed her after telling friends he could not stand to lose her to another man" - and the prosecuting attorney putting the victim's behaviour on trial:

Mark Evans, prosecuting, told the court the couple, who were not married, had been "teenage sweethearts" since Ms Jones was 13, and had described themselves as married.

He said: "Hayley started to expand her social life and was spending a lot of time on internet sites, in particular Facebook.

"She was quite secretive about this, preventing Lewis from using the site and turning the computer off. It is quite clear this rankled with him.

"On 2 March, she changed her Facebook relationship status from married to single and she made it clear their relationship was over."

(...)
The court heard Mr Lewis had threatened to kill his partner rather than lose her to another man.

Mr Evans added: "But Lewis told police the only tension between him and Hayley was the use of the home computer." (emphasis mine)

I understand the prosecutor's behaviour as creating for the jury such a compelling picture that they will be convinced that the murderer can only be Lewis. But in doing so, he adopts Lewis' POV and makes the man into an automaton driven by his anger at her behaviour, diminishing his agency and responsibility for the crime.

Sun, 2009-09-13 08:40

#37

rural - Francesca rural - Francesca's picture

And it happened again last night

'I've been shot by my husband - help me'

Police investigate at a house in Mono Township after a shooting in Orangeville, Woman found dying of gunshot wound 45 minutes after police left her house

Sun, 2009-09-13 09:37

#38

remind

It is just never fucking ends, the police's ignoringof the plight of women, men who think they have a right to a woman's life, and that they can deprive their children of life and/or parents.

Sun, 2009-09-13 10:27

#39

martin dufresne

...men who think they have a right to a woman's life...

As long as we coddle male privilege in every way, they do, remind, they do have that right.

Sun, 2009-09-13 11:00

#40

remind

Yes well it sems men are all too willing to keep it that way.

If progresssive men started protesting their evil privileged status, and publically in a large way got vocal against it, we might make some more gains as a society. But they are too busy closing ranks to perserve it, thus are willing participants in women's murders, and have blood on their hands too.

But it seems not to matter to them.

Sun, 2009-09-13 12:41

#41

martin dufresne

If progresssive men started protesting their evil privileged status, and publically in a large way got vocal against it, we might make some more gains as a society.

I don't know: I have researched such initiatives and the only ones that get significant traction are right-wing efforts such as the horrible "Promise Keepers", that are laced with a lot of Conservative, Christian ideology. Even the more progressive pledges (e.g. the White Ribbon Campaign) insist on redefining masculinity as not what everyone can observe - gender privilege - but a new reason to re-entrust men with respect, through emphasizing fatherhood and gimmicky photo opportunities such as getting men to walk in high-heeled shoes.

ETA: I mean, would you expect the rich to join a movement to denounce the privilege?

Sun, 2009-09-13 12:55

#42

remind

true enough martin from that perspective

Sun, 2009-09-13 15:25

#43

SparkyOne

rural - Francesca wrote:

And it happened again last night

'I've been shot by my husband - help me'

Police investigate at a house in Mono Township after a shooting in Orangeville, Woman found dying of gunshot wound 45 minutes after police left her house

Very sad story :(

I wonder what the police were thinking? I know, ALL police are evil america is an evil empire bla bla but honestly - I thought police are trained in this kind of stuff. IT seems shady that the police would just leave and not leave anyone behind or do SOMETHING to prevent his from happening.

Sun, 2009-09-13 16:30

#44

remind

This happened in Canada first of all, not the USA.

Nor is it shady, it is typical police behaviour, in a system that favours men over women.

Sun, 2009-09-13 20:02

#45

martin dufresne

Exactly. The standard police line in those circumstances is: "Call us if he shows up again, maam." But death threats from a husband are rarely taken at face value, triggering a police search of locales where the offender might be and/or police surveilance of the complainant's premises.

Sun, 2009-09-13 20:09

#46

SparkyOne

remind wrote:

This happened in Canada first of all, not the USA.

Nor is it shady, it is typical police behaviour, in a system that favours men over women.

Yes I am aware it happened in Canada, it just seems like it's an automatic response that everything American is by default, bad.

All police are bad, all Americans are bad. Same ol.

While I'm not agreeing or disagreeing either way Remind, what's the bais of your belief that the system favors men over women?

What do YOU feel makes that a true statement??

Sun, 2009-09-13 20:31

#47

martin dufresne

And when you're finished with that, would you care to explain to Sparky One that the system also favours Whites over persons of colour... Cuz he is taking NOTHING for granted...

Sun, 2009-09-13 21:17

#48

remind

First off, sparkyone SAYS she is a she, and a POC.

Secondly, sparkyone, this is the feminist forum, if you want to snark about negative biases against the USA here, please do so in the appropriate forum, which is rabble reactions. It detracts from this most serious topic, and is unnecessary to the max. In fact, it belittles what happened to this woman and her children who are now left without parents.

Thirdly, we do not debate first premise truths in the feminist forum. If you have a short falling on awarenes about the partriarchial system the world exists under, please feel free to do your own research.

Mon, 2009-09-14 09:30

#49

Maysie

SparkyOne, I work as a consultant with women's shelters all over Ontario, including the region where this latest murder took place.

The police receive perhaps a few hours of training on issues relating to violence against women, if that. Almost all of it is framed around their own personal safety while intervening in what they call "domestic disputes" rather than providing the best service for the woman.

In some regions in Ontario, shelters and rape crisis centres have worked hard, over YEARS, to develop relationships with the local police forces. They may establish training workshops for the cops in the area, or sexual assault task forces as well as accountability models for service to women who are victims of violence. These results are from the efforts of women in the VAW (violence against women) movement itself. No initiatives come from the police, that I've heard of. These efforts take time and resources away from services, and are done because if there is a possibility of making change, women in VAW will make it happen.

Most offers of partnerships are rebuffed, by the way, and for some regions, for example, the City of Toronto, the idea isn't even on the horizon, given that it would be a complete waste of time and effort. No that's not my opinion, that's from the women who work in places represented by OAITH (Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses) and OCRCC (Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres).

It's a very good thing that in some smaller cities and towns, there is the possibility of education and training of the local police. But it's only a possibility.

Don't forget that of all professions, male police officers are the ones most likely to be batterers themselves.

Mon, 2009-09-14 12:46

#50

SparkyOne

remind wrote:

First off, sparkyone SAYS she is a she, and a POC.

Thank you. Though, there is no need to question [as subtle as it may be] my gender or race, thank you very much.

Unless it's a common practice to question a womans gender in the femminist forum. Are you going to accuse me of not being gay too?

Quote:

Secondly, sparkyone, this is the feminist forum, if you want to snark about negative biases against the USA here, please do so in the appropriate forum, which is rabble reactions. It detracts from this most serious topic, and is unnecessary to the max. In fact, it belittles what happened to this woman and her children who are now left without parents.

USA bashing isn't confined to rabble reactions and you know that. It's found everywhere on babble. I'm not defending the US, I really don't care. I'm just pointing out cookie cutter responses which coinsided with the all Kops are bad mantra I mentioned. But for sure, i'll keep that out of the femminist forum.

Quote:

Thirdly, we do not debate first premise truths in the feminist forum. If you have a short falling on awarenes about the partriarchial system the world exists under, please feel free to do your own research.

You took the spirit of my question wrong. I'm not trying to argue with you or argue the first premise of truth. I'm interested in ring YOUR opinion. I know you're not a robot, Remind. When you're not taking jabs at me I enjoy hearing what you have to say . (Isn't that what rabble is about??) I simply wanted to know why YOU felt that way and your thoughts on it.

Mon, 2009-09-14 13:35

#51

remind

Oops. Yes, I forgot that you stated that you were also gay. Sorry.

Think you took the spirit of my comment in error, as I was indicating that no matter others personal opinion, it is sufficient that one has self -declared, and it has to be accepted as such. It was no jab.

Also, my point was that your comment about the USA bashing, that you say that you perceive here at babble, was inappropriately expressed in this thread. If you have issues about it, instead of derailing the thread, as you have now done twice with it, you should take it to rabble reactions and start a thread of it's own about it.

In answer to your question, my response is "life experience".

Most murders of battered women happen when they leave or shortly thereafter

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