Am I just particularly sensitive to them, or have there been a lot of heart-wrenching news stories lately about intimate partner homicides?
First, there's the ongoing coverage of Stacy Peterson's disappearance, which anyone with more than four brain cells understands is going to be linked back to her (abusive police officer) husband, from whom she had been trying to separate and whose previous wife died in 2004 under mysterious circumstances. (However, as this terrific Women's eNews article points out, for all of their coverage the mainstream media have been disappointingly reluctant to discuss Peterson's disappearance within the context of domestic violence.*)
Then, a few days ago we learned about the horrific case out of Laytonville, MD in which a man shot and killed his ex-wife and their three children (and then killed himself) as she prepared to transfer custody of the children to him.
Finally, today came a story out of Boston with the following headline: Boy Tells Police: "Daddy Killed Mommy". That was all my heart could take this holiday weekend. I actually wept as I read this article, my chest tightening from a mixture of fury and grief. What is it that makes these men think they have the right to simply snuff out the lives of women who dare to escape their control? This story was particularly anguishing as I thought about the three-year old boy who watched as his father stabbed his mother to death. It recalled for me another domestic homicide that dominated headlines recently -- that of Jessie Davis, whose toddler son also witnessed his mother's murder and told his grandmother that "mommy's in the rug".
My heart just breaks thinking about all of the bright, vibrant, hopeful lives cut tragically short by men who are hellbent on exerting control until the violent, bloody end. Even in a "best case" scenario in which the men are apprehended, tried, convicted, and incarcerated for life (or sentenced to death), I can't help but wonder: can there ever really be justice for these women and children?
*Thanks to Velma for the link.
UPDATE: Sadly, there's another to add to the list -- a murder-suicide in Detroit today that also injured the couple's 9-year son.
And now another. What is going on?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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4 comments:
I'm not sure this is a gender thing. I mean, there are plenty of examples of women engaging in unconscionable violence against the family – Andrea Yates, Susan Smith, that doctor from Illinois (I can’t remember her name). The interesting thing is that many of these and other women who murder their children are found NGRI. It must be insanity, we reason, for a woman to kill her children. I can’t think of a single case where a man who killed his kids was found NGRI. To be sure, this is a bit of a separate issue, because ABP is talking about IPV – not killing of kids. But I’m sure there are plenty of examples of women killing their partners (anyone know the data on this?). When a man kills a women in any context it is not a good thing – but it is especially vituperative* when it is done in the company of the child. My point is that we have cases where women act in violent ways that don’t make sense to us, just like these men have done. It doesn’t make sense for a father to kill the mother of his children in front of the children. It just doesn’t. If we could figure out the cause or how to prevent it – now that would be something to be thankful for…
PS – Every time I see Drew Peterson on the Today Show I just cringe. He just looks like an arrogant bastard.
*Thanks to Pap for this word
I agree with both of you. There are sensless acts of violence every day here in the STL, and they get little to no media coverage. No one mentions the structural disadvantage of the city nor the children that witnessed the violence or were left behind.
I do think it is important that we continue to recognise the multi-faceted nature of victimization. To move beyond the larger homicide rate and to look at the consequences of crime for families, children, and the community.
Thanks for putting the list together. I am sure they will be more soon - unfortunately.
Patch,
I appreciate your comments. I am drafting a post to respond to some of the points you raised. (I'm doing a post instead of comments so that I can include links.) Look for it soon!
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