CCADV Issues Latest Homicide Report Marking 20 Years of Strengthening Connecticut’s Systemic Response to Intimate Partner Violence
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Connecticut saw a notable increase in intimate partner homicides in 2018 when compared to the previous three years (18 in 2018 vs. 10 in 2017, 12 in 2016 and 9 in 2015). Since 2000, 278 individuals, 86% of whom were women, have lost their lives at the hands of their intimate partner. Connecticut’s average annual intimate partner homicide rate remains steady at just under 14 homicides each year (13.9). And while there was a notable increase in the use of edged weapons (7 in 2018 and 6 in 2019, compared to 1 in 2017, 3 in 2016 and 1 in 2015), firearms remain the single most commonly used weapon in these homicides, used in 39% of intimate partner homicides between 2000 and 2019.
This year marks the 20th year of intimate partner homicide reviews conducted by the Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Task Force. Since its inception in 2000, the task force has reviewed over 100 cases and made nearly 50 recommendations designed to strengthen a coordinated community response to survivors of intimate partner violence. The state’s most recent data and reoccurring intimate partner homicide trends can be found in its newest report, Upon Further Examination: 2019-2020 Report of the Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Task Force.
“The presence of addiction and mental illness, as well as recent attempts at separation or divorce remain consistent trends in the reviewed homicides,” said Daniel Cargill, CCADV Director of Law Enforcement Services and task force chair. “Nearly 85% of the cases reviewed during the past two years indicated evidence of a history of mental illness involving the victim or the offender, while 46% of the victims had recently left or attempted to leave the relationship. These are concrete points of intervention where our systemic response can improve to prevent future deaths.”
During the 2019 – 2020 review period, the task force reviewed thirteen (13) cases, including nine (9) homicides, two (2) near-fatal cases, and two (2) murder-suicides. Of these cases, seven (7) involved firearms, three (3) involved strangulation, and three (3) involved knives or edged weapons. There were a total of nine (9) female victims and four (4) male victims. Nearly half (6) of the cases involved victims who had recently or at the time of the incident divorced, separated from, or attempted to leave the offender (whether married or dating). It is important to note that the task force only reviews fully adjudicated cases and the cases included in this particular review cycle occurred between the years of 2012 and 2016.
Given the common findings of the current review cycle, the task force recommends working with criminal justice and family court partners to increase education and awareness for victims and offenders. This will include efforts related to divorce resources, increase training and tools for private family law attorneys and law enforcement, and work with the CT Department of Correction to bolster support options for offenders.
The task force also recommends strengthening partnerships with various state and community-based stakeholders to improve mental health, addiction, and trauma-related services. Not only are these services needed to help victims and offenders of domestic violence who experience addiction and mental illness at high rates, but they provide important points of intervention for individuals who may not recognize that they are either the victim or perpetrator of abusive behaviors. The task force also recommends enhancing awareness of available interventions for children who experience intimate partner violence (in four of the cases reviewed, seven children were present or witnesses to the violence that preceded the homicide).
The report also highlights the development of Connecticut’s Intimate Partner Domestic Violence Homicide Investigative Toolkit, which was the recommendation of the task force during the 2017 – 2018 review cycle. The toolkit, developed in partnership between CCADV, CT Division of Criminal Justice, CT Department of Public Health, and various law enforcement and medical professionals, will serve as a guide and provide adaptable forms, checklists, and examples for law enforcement agencies to incorporate into their own established protocols. Said Cargill, “Because these cases occur across the state in communities with varying resources, this investigative toolkit developed with law enforcement, for law enforcement will aid all agencies tasked with investigating these complex cases as well as supplement non-intimate partner serious injury or homicide investigations.” In January, CCADV will begin training law enforcement across the state on use of the toolkit.
