Domestic violence highlighted as deaths mount

Esther Munch, director of development at Harmony House domestic violence center, had only one word to describe the recent violence in the Springfield area.

Heartbreaking.

Local authorities are investigating 12 violent or suspicious deaths that occurred over an eight-day period starting on Feb. 12. Of those deaths, at least seven appear to be tied to domestic violence.

"I deal with this every day," Munch said. "But it's still heartbreaking."

New attention, old problem

The death count has put a new spotlight on domestic violence in the area, but Munch said the problem is an old and persistent one. Munch said Harmony House operates at its 110-person capacity every night. She said the shelter turned away more than 1,600 people in 2013 due to lack of space, and that number was even bigger in 2014.

Munch said in addition to the 110 people a night staying at the shelter, Harmony House is working with another 150 people on an outreach basis.

Munch said she hopes there is never another week with as much violence as the Springfield area experienced last week, but she said there is a lot of work to do on the educational front to get domestic violence in check.

"The key to turning this around is we have to bring it out in the open," Munch said. "We want to speak to any group that we can get into. For people who want a speaker on domestic violence for their church group or their civic group or different businesses, we are available to come speak on it anytime."

Mounting violence

The way domestic violence is defined by police, it does not have to be between spouses or people who are living together. It also includes assaults in which one family member assaults another family member.

The seven recent domestic-related deaths include a murder-suicide in Willard on Feb. 12, a double homicide on South Newton Avenue in Springfield on Feb. 13 and three bodies found in a burning house on North Roosevelt Avenue on Feb. 20.

Springfield police reported a 7 percent increase in aggravated assaults for 2014 compared to 2013, and Chief Paul Williams said 52 percent of those aggravated assaults in 2014 were domestic related.

In 2014, Springfield police responded to 2,701 domestic assaults. Springfield has the highest rate of domestic violence incidents per capita of any city in the state.

Working on the problem

Springfield police have been vocal in their efforts to cut down on domestic violence with initiatives like the Family Violence Task Force, and an official campaign kicked off in October 2013 to combat the problem. Progress, however, has been tough to see.

Police have started using a lethality assessment when responding to domestic calls which can show victims how dangerous their situations have become. Police also say they are working with prosecutors to keep repeat offenders behind bars.

One thing the Family Violence Task Force is considering is a fatality review board that would look at domestic violence deaths in a comprehensive manner.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said Springfield Police Capt. David Millsap — a leader on the task force — recently went to Montana to attend a fatality review in a domestic violence case. Cox said the task force is exploring the possibility of implementing a similar process in Springfield.

Spreading the word

Task force member Amber Allen with the Community Partnership of the Ozarks said three out of four Americans personally know someone who has been affected by domestic violence. She said the main goal of the task force right now is raising awareness about the issue and helping victims get access to services.

Brandi Bartel — executive director of the Victim Center, which provides services to victims of violent or sexual crimes — said part of the reason for the high numbers in Springfield might be the recent initiatives encouraging the reporting of those crimes.

Bartel said while watching the reports of homicides stack up over the last two weeks, she couldn't help but wonder how things might have been different if the victims had reached out for more help in the past.

"My first reaction is this is an incredible tragedy," Bartel said. "I think it is deeply terrible to know that these victims didn't have intervention or didn't seek the help that they needed and those situations escalated to the point of death."

One of the first lines of defense in the legal system involves protection orders. At least 2,400 orders have been sought in Greene County each year since 2009, which averages to about six per day. A protection order is designed to prevent contact of any kind — through any means of communication or through other parties — by a person accused of harassment, or worse.

Bartel said she is hoping that the recent spate of homicides will get the community's attention and bring more engagement on the issue.

"It is unfortunate that it takes events like this to get people's attention," Bartel said. "We are hoping that the community will take any anger that they have, any sadness that they have and redirect those emotions and those normal human responses into efforts to assist those in our community in hopes that we don't have to talk about [homicides like this] ever again."

What's next?

Bartel said the Family Violence Task Force is in the process of researching things other cities have done to cut down on domestic violence and how those practices might be adopted in Springfield.

A group from the task force took a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma last month to visit the Family Safety Center, a sort of one-stop shop for domestic violence victim services. The task force could mirror that effort locally.

Bartel said, in the meantime, the Victim Center and other organizations in the area are in need of volunteers and financial support to better serve the victims of domestic violence in Springfield.

"We need more people behind us and working alongside with us," Bartel said. "It will truly take a community-wide effort to turn the tables on this issue."

Avenues of help

• Harmony House offers shelter, case management, child care, support groups, classes and legal advocacy

Phone: 417-837-7700

Address: 519 E. Cherry St.

• The Victim Center offers a 24-hour crisis hotline, crisis response team, advocacy services, court education and individual and group therapy

Main phone: 417-863-7273

Crisis Line: 417-864-7233

Address: 819 N. Boonville Ave.

• Springfield Police Department

Phone: 417-864-1810

Address: 321 E. Chestnut Expressway

• Greene CountyProsecutor's Office

Main phone: 417-868-4061

Victim/witness phone: 417-868-4082

Address: 1010 N. Boonville Ave.

• Cox South hospital

Phone: 417-269-6000

Address: 3801 S. National Ave.

• Mercy Springfield hospital

Phone: 417-820-2000

Address: 1235 E. Cherokee St.