3 homicides in a week tied to domestic violence

PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY, JUL. 22, 2009

Three homicides in Sacramento County during the past week provide startling examples of how domestic violence can escalate unexpectedly and with deadly consequence.

Each of the deaths offers a stark reminder of an age-old problem, but they don't appear to signal a greater trend, according to data and officials' accounts.

Detectives have identified domestic violence as the motive in just four of the 30 homicides committed this year in the Sacramento city police and Sacramento County sheriff's jurisdictions – or 13 percent.

That number has fluctuated over the last several years: In 2008, 6 percent of homicides in those areas were attributed to domestic violence, down from 13 percent in 2007. The year before, it was 8 percent.

So far in 2009, city and county authorities have made 942 arrests for domestic violence. At that rate, arrests would be down only slightly from last year's total of 2,091.

What triggered each of the recent homicides – one in Elk Grove; one in Folsom, in which police say the shooter then committed suicide; one in Sacramento – remains unclear. But officials say economic turmoil often is behind surges in problems between partners or family members.

"Any time there is an increase in stressors, you can expect an increase in domestic violence," said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. "Obviously we're going through very tough economic times."

Tracing the violence back to some direct cause is difficult, however, even when detectives suspect domestic issues.

"It's not a check box on a form somewhere," Curran said.

In the most recent incident, Sacramento police say a 31-year-old man shot his 26-year-old girlfriend to death in their Garden Highway apartment Monday afternoon.

Demario Richard Wiggins, 31, is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of murder and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

Police Sgt. Norm Leong said Wiggins shot Tersha Jo Brown in the head after an argument, but he would not discuss what prompted that fight.

Neither had a criminal record in Sacramento County, and Leong said police had never been called to the couple's apartment for problems.

A neighbor, however, reported hearing an argument about two months ago.

"I heard her saying something like, 'I am the only one in this relationship who does anything,' " said Oana Tanasa, a resident of the Garden Villa apartment complex. "They were really loud, and it was close to 1 a.m., so I thought about complaining to the manager."

Attempts by The Bee to reach Brown's family were unsuccessful. The Kitsap Sun in Kitsap, Wash., reported Tuesday that Brown graduated from high school there, where her brother, Josh Brown, is a county commissioner.

"She always saw the good in people and always looked past their faults," the newspaper quoted Brown as saying. "We grew up together and I learned from her to be more patient with people."

Wiggins declined an interview from the Sacramento County Main Jail, as did Jennifer Ann Dalton, who Elk Grove police suspect fatally shot her ex-husband a week earlier.

Craig Allen Dalton, 39, was gunned down in the garage of his ex-wife's home on Rainbow Falls Way in the afternoon of July 13. Detectives later arrested Jennifer Dalton, 40, on suspicion of murder.

Sacramento Superior Court records show Craig Dalton, a father of two girls, had filed for divorce earlier this year. The couple married in November of 2006 but separated nearly two years later, according to the court records.

Elk Grove Police Officer Chris Trim said detectives are not sure what led to the violent confrontation. "Two people know what happened there. Unfortunately, one can't provide us information as to what took place."

Three days later, a divorced couple – reconciled and living together again – died in what Folsom police describe as a murder-suicide.

Michael Christopher Rogers, 41, shot 39-year-old Erin Scarlett before turning the gun on himself in their condominium on Wales Drive, according to police.

Detectives are not sure of a motive. Federal records show Scarlett had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and neighbors told The Bee that she had been notified the day of her death that she might be laid off from her nursing job.

Her brother, Shawn Scarlett, said the couple seemed happy as recently as last month. He mentioned, however, that doctors had changed Rogers' antidepressants a week before the shooting.

The past week's bloodshed has been particularly troubling to advocates for victims of domestic violence.

"It's amazing," said Beth Hassett, executive director of Women Escaping a Violent Environment. "I've never seen anything like that."

Hassett said her organization, which fields up to 20,000 calls a year, has not seen a spike in calls regarding domestic violence. But she said that more of the callers are reporting physical abuse – rather than verbal, emotional or financial abuse – and that money is a recurring theme.

"We're seeing … already stressed relationships are getting more volatile," Hassett said. "It's terrible, but it seems it's a result of the bad economy and everybody being in such a terrible space right now."