Domestic Violence Headlines for the Week of March 10

Another week, another set of headlines that remind us women are still in danger. Here’s what you may have missed

DV Advocate Murdered by Abusive Boyfriend, 3-Year-Old Daughter Survives

A social worker who specialized in helping domestic violence survivors was shot and killed by her abusive boyfriend last Friday night. Her 3-year-old daughter was present at the time but was unharmed. 

Police out of Auburn Hills, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, say 33-year-old Marcus Taylor shot and killed the little girl’s mother, 34-year-old Jackie Jo Torrez, in a Holiday Inn Express hotel room before taking his own life. The three were reportedly at the hotel to celebrate Torrez’s daughter’s birthday, who turned four on Monday. 

“It brings my heart joy to remember her contagious laugh, her huge heart, and her determination to help other women combat and work through domestic violence,” said Torrez’s boss, Dr. Melvin C. McDowell Jr. “Jackie loved her job, she loved and advocated for her clients, and she will forever be loved and missed.” 

The couple had been together since last December, according to social media.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 70 women are shot and killed by a partner every month and 4.5 million women in the U.S. have been threatened by an intimate partner with a gun. Additionally, a domestic violence survivor is five times more likely to be killed by an abuser when there’s access to a firearm.

There are no reports that say Taylor had a history of abuse or had ever been arrested for domestic violence before. However, even if he had been convicted of domestic violence in the past, he would still be legally allowed to own a gun. A federal law that bans individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from owning a handgun (called the Lautenberg Amendment), only places restrictions on current or former spouses. This, despite the fact that dating partners make up almost half of all perpetrators of domestic violence homicides. Activists call this the “boyfriend loophole.”

Source: Fox 2 Detroit

UK Man Murders Ex-Girlfriend and Two Others, Thought to Be Influenced by Andrew Tate 

A UK man sentenced to life in prison this week for the brutal rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, as well as the murders of her sister and mother, was found to have watched some 10 videos of misogynistic influencer and accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate just 24 hours before his killing spree. 

Kyle Clifford, 26, was enraged that Louise Hunt, 25, his girlfriend of 18 months, had broken up with him last July. During his trial, it was revealed Hunt began to see Clifford’s red flags after he had shown Hunt and her friends a Tate video involving animals being harmed, which he found “funny.” 

Clifford was found guilty of entering Hunt’s home after convincing her mother, Carol Hunt, that he was returning his ex-girlfriend’s belongings. That’s when he fatally stabbed Carol. He then waited for more than hour for Louise to come home, raping her before killing her with a crossbow. When Louise’s sister, Hannah, 28, entered the home, he fatally shot her with the crossbow as well. 

Police located Clifford the following day in a cemetery where he had shot himself with the same crossbow. He is now in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down.

At his sentencing, Justice Joel Bennathan said, “The evidence I have heard shows you to be a jealous man soaked in self-pity – a man who holds women in utter contempt.”

Tate, a dual British-US citizen, along with his brother Tristian, recently arrived in Florida after being held in Romania for two years since the brothers were arrested for human trafficking and money laundering. Andrew is known for boasting about his misogynistic beliefs online—he was banned in the past by Twitter after stating that women should “bear responsibility” for being raped. His account has since been reinstated on X.

Tate has been accused of raping and strangling at least two women. While charges were dropped in Britain, the women are now suing Tate. An investigation into the brothers is still underway in both Romania, and now in Florida, even as the brothers announced they had relocated to Las Vegas. 

Tate previously ran a “webcam business” where, he explained on a now-defunct website, "My job was to meet a girl, go on a few dates, sleep with her, test if she's quality, get her to fall in love with me to where she'd do anything I say and then get her on webcam so we could become rich together.”

In light of the Hunt murders, the British women suing Tate called on social media companies worldwide to remove Tate’s misogyny from their platforms. 

“Clifford’s case should be a warning to world leaders and all those who belittle the seriousness of allowing incitement of violence against women online to fester. Our thoughts are with the Hunt family,” they said in a statement.

Misogyny is one of the causes of the perpetuation of violence against women, agree experts. Philosopher Kate Manne, author of Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny and Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women says curbing misogyny should start early in young boys.

“We have to teach them different lessons. Lessons on why they are not entitled to women’s bodies and minds [and] how to not feel resentment when they don’t get what they feel they’re entitled to.” For more information, read, “What Fuels Domestic Violence? Part 2: Misogyny.”

Sources: The Guardian, Al Jazeera 

Texas Man Murders Fiancé, Stages It as Suicide

On Saturday, Ty Vaughn, 31, was arrested in Baytown, Texas months after his fiancé, 27-year-old Luis Banos Norberto, was found dead from a gunshot to his face. Police say Vaughn told them he was arguing with Norberto when he came home to find him dead, after which he tried to convince police it was a suicide. When Norberto called 911, he told dispatchers, “My spouse is dead. Help. My life is over.” 

When police responded, they found Norberto’s body in bed, a torn photograph of him and Vaughn nearby. A rifle was propped up against one of his arms. He had been shot through the eye. 

Vaughn mentioned that Norberto was undocumented several times, unprompted. After a search of Vaughn’s phone, police found he had Googled, “Can I kill an illegal human?”

When police later reviewed surveillance video, they saw Vaughn walking up the stairs to his apartment at a time when he said he wasn’t yet home. Neighbors said they heard a gunshot soon after. Vaughn then texted Norberto, “Babe? Babe why are you not texting back?!?!” after Norberto had been killed.

Statistics show that domestic violence is just as prevalent among LGBTQ+ couples as heterosexual couples, with two out of every five gay and bisexual men becoming victims of abusive partners. The tactics of abuse in LGBTQ+ relationships, however, may look different. Abusive partners may threaten to “out” their partner if they disclose the abuse. The abusers  may tell their partner no one will believe their accounts of abuse because of their sexual identity, or try to reinforce stereotypes, like that women can’t be abusers or men can’t be victims of abuse. As such, domestic violence in same-sex relationships is often vastly underreported. 

To further complicate things, if the victim is also an undocumented immigrant, an abuser may use that as leverage to keep the victim from reaching out for help. However, there are resources for undocumented immigrants to stay safe while escaping abuse, without the fear of deportation. Read, “A Guide to Domestic Violence for U.S. Immigrants.”

Some states are passing laws to help address the issue known as “hidden homicides,” where abusive partners try to pass off murder as a suicide. Alliance for HOPE International, through their Justice Project program, independently reviews hidden homicide cases around the country at the request of family members. They believe there could be as many as 1,000 hidden homicide cases in the U.S. each year. 

Source: ABC13