Saturday, July 12, 2008
Jana Lynne Mackey’s friends last saw her on July 2. They filed a missing persons report on the third when Mackey could not be located. Later that night, police found Mackey, deceased in Adolfo Garcia-Nunez’s home. The two had been dating but recently had broken off ties.
The Douglas County district attorney’s office charged Garcia-Nunez with second degree murder, and the district attorney’s office said Garcia-Nunez’s crime is another instance of a continuing problem of domestic violence crimes.
In 2007 the district attorney’s office filed 237 domestic battery charges. Seventy-one of those charges are still pending. In total, domestic violence claims account for 10% of the caseload for Douglas County. Their office receives 2,200 to 2,400 claims yearly.
Charles Branson, district attorney for Douglas County, estimates that a third of claims filed are dropped due to a lack of evidence.
His office considers domestic violence such problem one assistant district attorney’s entire job deals with the abuse.
However not all domestic violence is gender specific.
“Male battery happens more than you think,” Branson said.
After glancing over a list of 25 pending cases he counted five where the defendants were female.
In any domestic battery case, Branson stresses the importance of communication with the victim throughout the proceeding and discovery period of a trial.
“A lot of times after someone files a report, there really is no contact with them until the trial,” Branson said. “We try to maintain contact for safety and information for the trial.”
Kay Metzger, with Women’s Transitional Services, says most people to realize the problem.
Often times the violence will go unattended, because a party in the relationship will not recognize the violence as a problem.
Women’s Transitional Services tries to educate college students about the danger of domestic violence before real problems occur.
Meztger suggests that any person in a relationship should evaluate whether it is healthy or not.
“People need to be aware of what to look for,” Metzger said. “Is your partner being emotionally or physically abusive or his he stalking you? Those are all red flags.”
But what about situations where people are on the outside looking in at a violent relationship?
Metzger said the main thing is that people should realize is someone becomes withdrawn, if they mention a violent side of their partner, or physical reactions to their significant other’s movements.
“If you believe that someone’s relationship is violent, then it probably is,” Metzger said.
However, leaving a violent relationship often times become the trickier thing to do, because there are situations where the batterer becomes more violent.
Metzger suggests that if the decision has been made to leave a relationship, it has to be a safe situation and in a controlled manner.
If the situation becomes violent immediately, contact the police, Metzger says. Police can file protective orders and other safety precautions for those in need.
Women’s Transitional Services also provides a shelter, individual counseling, community support groups and a 24-hour crisis line, at (785) 843-3333, to assist those in need.
“It is important to talk openly with a friend that you think might be in a violent relationship,” Metzger said. “That way help can be provided.”
— Edited by Rustin Dodd
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