Jul 22, 2010

Soldier charged with killing wife, daughter

Yet another horrific domestic violence double murder/attempted suicide, with the murderous husband surviving, while his wife and infant daughter did not. How can one shoot an eight month old infant - much less ones own child-this boggles my mind and breaks my heart.

The scariest part of all of this is that cases of this nature seem to becoming more commonplace rather than more scarce. You would think that as education and public awareness campaigns increase, domestic and partner violence would decrease - it isnt.

Unfortunately in these kinds of famicide/ suicides, the only thing that can really stop them from happening is better protection for women who have had a history of being abused by their husbands or partners . And this means whether the law was involved or not, whether charges "stuck" or not in past incidents. As they traverse the statistically very dangerous time period during and following separation and/or divorce this is often when the enraged husband or former partner realizes he is losing or has lost- "control" of his wife and thus his children, the twisted thought occurs to him that if he can no longer control them, he will end their lives. This is seen as the final act of control.
And then often they try to kill themselves and somehow they often botch that part up of the plan-and they wind up merely injured, as was the perpetrator in this story.

While I realize that it is not monetarily feasible to give these women 24 hour police protection -although it would be wonderful-we must find better ways to intervene both socially and legally on behalf of abused women who are going through separation or divorce-as well as the dangerous months following either. I cant tell you how incensed I become reading about these same kinds of murders week after week after week.

Whether we raise the monies privately through public awareness fund raisers and charitable donations... or we solicit the money from already existing non profits that deal with the cause of domestic and partner violence, one way or another we've got to become more involved, more savvy and ultimately more responsive towards these at risk women and their children.

I am reading about far too many of these senseless murders or attempted murders that society i(e friends acquaintances neighbors relatives ) and the law should have seen coming and could thus help prevent. As conscientious and caring human beings, we must do better.

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