‘Our goal is zero.’ Leaders reflect on Tarrant County’s domestic violence homicides

Fort Worth Star Telegram: Kaley Johnson

Seven women in Tarrant County died at the hands of their partners in 2021, according to a report from the Tarrant County Adult Fatality Review team. On Thursday, leaders in Tarrant County’s fight against domestic violence gathered to mourn the loss of those seven women, but also remember the work the county has done to help countless others.

Kathryn Jacob, president and CEO of SafeHaven, stood outside Safehaven’s office in Arlington. Behind her, seven purple cardboard cutouts — representing the women who died — stood in the sun. Three of the women lived in Fort Worth and the remaining four were from Hurst, Arlington, Grand Prairie and Mansfield.

“One in three women in Tarrant County will experience domestic violence in her lifetime,” Jacob said at the podium Thursday. “And as we know today, some will die at the hands of their offender.”

INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDES IN TARRANT COUNTY

The Fatality Review Team releases the annual report on how many people in Tarrant County are believed to have died at the hands of a current or former partner. The team is made up of agencies who each conduct case analysis and provide information. The Arlington Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, John Peter Smith Hospital, MedStar, the Office of the Criminal District Attorney, SafeHaven of Tarrant County and Texas Health Resources are contributing partners.

The cases being reviewed by the team have not been adjudicated yet, so the names of the victims are not listed in the report. But one of the Fort Worth victims likely included in the report is Holly Beverly, who was killed in June 2021 along with her son, Titus Atkins.

The report, which was released in October, does provide notable details about the homicides to track trends or differences between years. In 2021, five of the seven homicides were murder-suicides, and 72% of victims had ended their relationship with their abuser when they were killed. Leaving an abusive relationship can be the most dangerous time for a victim, Jacob said, which is why SafeHaven offers to work with victims to create a safety plan.

According to SafeHaven’s website, 1,526 women and children found refuge in the nonprofit’s emergency shelters in 2021.

While even one domestic violence-related death is too many, Jacob said, the 2021 report does show that the 2020 domestic homicide spike was likely a COVID-related anomaly. From March 2020 to December 2020, 17 people died as a result of domestic violence, making it the county’s worst year on record for domestic violence homicides.

The isolation created by COVID likely contributed to the increase in abuse and domestic violence homicide. Abusers use tactics such as coercion, manipulation and isolation to try and gain power. Unfortunately, many of those tactics of control became easier during the stay-at-home orders of the early pandemic.

In 2021, the number dropped down again to match pre-COVID stats. In 2019, eight deaths were linked directly to domestic violence. However, SafeHaven’s goal, Jacob said, is for the number of people killed by partners to be zero.

“Tarrant County is ahead of the game when it comes to domestic violence. I am proud of that,” she said. “But I would hesitate to say that to those seven families. Our goal is zero. I hope our community continues to hold our community accountable.”

FUTURE EFFORTS

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson attended and spoke at Thursday’s event. Jacob thanked both for their partnership with SafeHaven over the years. Jacob lauded Whitley and Wilson’s efforts to help domestic violence victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

Jacob noted that she and Wilson may differ politically, but domestic violence “is a widely supported bipartisan — and really nonpartisan — issue.”

“No matter what your political background is,” Jacob said. “We can all agree that abusing your partner is wrong.”

At the event, Wilson discussed the partnership the Tarrant County DA’s office — and Wilson personally — has had with SafeHaven over the years. When she started as district attorney in 2015, Tarrant County had the second highest number of domestic violence homicide victims in the state, she said. The county also had policies that sometimes did more harm than good. For example, the District Attorney’s Office allowed domestic abuse charges to be dropped if the woman agreed to go to counseling. The practice put the onus on victims, rather than holding abusers accountable and protecting victims from further violence.

“When somebody breaks into your house, we don’t tell you that you need to learn how to get locks on your door or replace your windows,” Wilson said. “We don’t do that. We go after the defendants.”

Wilson worked with groups like SafeHaven and the Genesis Women’s Shelter in Dallas to improve systems for domestic violence victims in Tarrant County. In 2016, she showed up to a county commissioners meeting with a poster board covered in pictures of women who had been killed by their partners. By the end of the meeting, she said, the commissioners had agreed to create the Intimate Partner Violence Team.

Wilson and Whitley will both leave office soon, after a new criminal district attorney and county judge are elected In November. Wilson, Whitley and Jacob are optimistic that the work that’s been done will continue, no matter who is elected.

“Whoever the next DA is, I hope they allow our great teams of lawyers to keep doing what they’re doing,” Wilson said. “For the Intimate Partner Violence team who have made a huge difference in this county and how we handle family violence — they’ve made a huge difference. They’ve changed a lot.”

Whitley has overseen increased funding and resources for SafeHaven, including directing funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the nonprofit.

In the future, he hopes courts continue to issue protective orders against abusers in order to increase the charges abusers can face.

“I think the seeds that we’re planting now, we will see those mature and come to the point where (SafeHaven) will continue to be a strong organization,” Whitley said.

The Texas Council on Family Violence also released its report this week on domestic violence-related deaths in the state. The Fatality Review Team counts intimate partner homicides differently than the Texas Council on Family Violence, which uses a broader definition of intimate partner homicide. According to the report, the Texas Council on Family Violence identified 204 Texans who died in intimate partner homicides in 2021 ‚ the third highest number of intimate partner homicides in the last decade.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE

If you’re experiencing abuse or partner violence and need help, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or you can chat with an advocate on the website. SafeHaven of Tarrant County’s hotline number is 1-877-701-7233.