Nebraska organizations seeing increase in severe cases of intimate partner violence

Nebraska Public Media reporter Molly Ashford joined Jackie Ourada on All Things Considered to discuss the trend of domestic violence this year in Nebraska.

Jackie Ourada: If you feel like you’ve heard a lot of stories this year involving Nebraska women dying by the hands of their significant others or former romantic partners, it’s because Nebraska is seeing an uptick in those cases. I'm Jackie Ourada, alongside Molly Ashford who has been following this alarming trend. We should note, for the next five minutes, this content will deal with death and suicide. Molly, can you catch us up on what we've seen so far this year?

Molly Ashford: Absolutely. I've been working on a story which will come out in December that deals specifically with domestic violence, murder suicides, but that inevitably leads to talking about intimate partner violence more broadly. Nebraska has seen 12 murder suicides this year so far, which have left a total of 25 people dead, and of those 12, all but one involved a man killing a woman who was his current or former romantic partner. That does include one case out of Seward county in which the alleged perpetrator shot himself in the head and survived. People I've been speaking with at domestic violence service organizations say they're seeing an increase in very severe instances of intimate partner violence, which is sometimes called an increase in lethality. Christon MacTaggart, from the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, she says these increasingly violent cases, along with concerns about federal funding, have left her and other service providers really worried.

Christon MacTaggart, Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence: It is a complex but perhaps perfect storm of things that have me highly concerned about increases in lethality that we're seeing just in general across the state, whether or not those cases end in death.

Ourada: It’s well known that the most dangerous time for a woman in a domestic violence situation is when she is attempting to leave a relationship. And it seems like we’re certainly seeing that play out this year.

Ashford: Absolutely. At least half of the murder suicides this year were committed by a man against his ex wife or ex girlfriend, and in three of those cases, the woman had either sought or was granted a protection order against the man who later killed her. So we're definitely seeing that heightened danger for women when they try to leave a relationship, and that's not just in cases that end in a death. Katie Welsh, with the Women's Center for Advancement in Omaha, told me that they're seeing an increase in general domestic violence calls involving former intimate partners, at least in Douglas County.

Katie Welsh, Women's Center for Advancement: When law enforcement are responding to domestic violence calls, they are seeing more and more individuals identifying as ex-intimate partners or former intimate partners.

Ourada: Much like other issues, it’s hard to watch trends if cases and instances aren’t tracked. Is there any organization or entity in Nebraska that tracks domestic or intimate partner violence incidents or deaths?

Ashford: The main resource for information on domestic violence deaths is the Nebraska Domestic Abuse Death Review Team, which was founded in 2022 and contains information about all types of domestic abuse deaths. Between July of 2022 and July of this year, the review team identified 72 domestic abuse deaths across the state. Though the victims are pretty evenly split between gender, 87% of perpetrators are men. Women are much more likely to be killed by a current or former intimate partner than men. Men are more likely to be killed by a family member. The information on non-deadly intimate partner violence incidents is much more scattered between agencies. The Nebraska Crime Commission puts out an annual report on domestic assault, but the 2024 data has not been released yet.

Ourada: Looking to your story that will publish later this year, can you share with us a case you’re looking into?

Ashford: I was lucky enough to sit down recently with the family of Jaliyah Compton, who was 23 years old when she was killed by her ex-boyfriend in August. She applied for a protection order against him, which was initially granted but then dismissed after a hearing. And then about a month after the order was dismissed, he went into the home where she was staying with a friend in Falls City and killed her before shooting himself. I think one of the many awful things about murder suicides like this is how many people are impacted, far more than you can really even imagine. Jaliyah left behind a young child. Her family is devastated, especially because they feel that she took all the proper steps and then was let down by the justice system and the perpetrators, families are also thrown into a really painful reckoning of their love for the person who caused so much harm, and in a lot of cases, these murder suicides happen within a family, so it leads to this really incredibly complex grief for those who are left behind.

Ourada: That was Molly Ashford speaking with us about this rash of domestic violence deaths we’ve been seeing in Nebraska this year. If you or someone you know is in a dangerous relationship, please know there are resources, such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other organizations in Nebraska that are here and ready to help. Thanks Molly for keeping tabs on this issue.

Ashford: Thanks so much.