By PATRICIO G. BALONA, Staff writer
By the numbers
Statistics show an increase in domestic violence:
Volusia County:
2007 - 2008
3,991 cases
2008 2009:
5,670 cases
Shows a 40 percent increase.
Source: Cheryl Fuller, executive director Domestic Abuse Council, Inc.
Flagler County:
2008 2009:
389 hot-line calls
2009 2010:
722 hot-line calls
Shows a 54 percent increase.
Source: Diana Christen, chief executive officer, The Family Life Center, Bunnell
SWAT Response
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office SWAT team has responded 13 times since the beginning of 2009, including seven that were domestic disturbance calls.
2010
3 SWAT calls, all for domestic violence:
April 24: Lullwater Street, Deltona; (husband and wife and others)
July 26: Maplewood Drive, Edgewater; (husband and wife)
July 28: Lake Helen Osteen Road, Deltona; (husband and wife)
2009 10 SWAT calls, including these four domestics:
Jan. 17: Kingsdale Drive, Deltona; (man suicidal after argument with wife)
March 25: East University Avenue, Orange City: (subject shot girlfriend, her son — at a Deltona bar — and himself)
April 5: Smugglers Cove, Ormond Beach: (man suicidal because of wife leaving)
April 19: Gage Avenue, Deltona: (man suicidal after argument with wife)
SOURCE: Volusia County Sheriff's Office
Jackie Miller filed charges against her ex-boyfriend when he grabbed her by the hair, slammed her against a wall and chair, and threatened to kill her.
A few weeks later, on July 21, she lay dead on the side of Interstate 4 near Lake Helen. Miller, 44, of Sanford, survived a rollover when Christopher Jodon, 44, rammed her sport utility vehicle from behind, investigators said.
But Jodon then walked up to the wreck and knifed her to death just days before a court appearance, according to Volusia County sheriff's officials.
Seven days later, investigators say, Sislyn Gonsalves, 44, of Deltona was shot in the left arm by her 48-year-old husband, Clayton Gonsalves, three days before they were scheduled to go before a judge.
In both cases of extreme domestic violence, families blamed a bad economy and court action was looming.
Overall domestic violence, including extreme cases, has spiked in the years since the economy went sour.
"The economy and unemployment rate continues to bring stressors to individuals and families and many are not dealing with this well, resulting in family violence," said Diana Christen, chief executive officer for the Family Life Center in Bunnell.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report reflects a 15.6 percent increase in domestic violence-related murders and a 71.4 percent increase in domestic violence manslaughter from 2008 to 2009.
Domestic violence-related killings account for one out of every five murders statewide, Christen said.
"The dramatic increase in domestic violence stalking, manslaughter and homicide is horrific and completely unacceptable," Christen said. "The cases that we've seen are much more brutal, much more frightening, and much more lethal than we've seen before. It's getting worse because the economy is not improving."
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
Janet Jodon said her son was stressed out because of the economy and the charges Miller filed pushed him to the limit. The son wrote a suicide note then went looking for Miller armed with a hunting knife, according to a sheriff's report.
Sislyn Gonsalves, who filed for an injunction against her husband July 9, said Clayton Gonsalves had become short-tempered and they often argued in the months after he lost his job in March 2009.
"One of the most dangerous warning signs is when a batterer has lost their job," Christen said.
However, advocates caution that money problems are not the sole cause of domestic violence, but agree financial issues can contribute to severe abuse in situations where a pattern of domestic violence exists.
In some cases domestic violence victims are killed when they try to escape.
"It is true that when a victim decides to leave, the risk of injury or death escalates tremendously," said Brian Namey, of The National Network to End Domestic Violence in Washington, D.C. "When an abuser feels he is losing power or control, he can react violently."
ABUSE BECOMES HOMICIDAL
The trigger, in some recent cases, to homicidal domestic violence is when victims seek the court's help.
Namey said Miller's and Sislyn Gonsalves' cases are examples of what happens when victims try to get out of or fix a troubled relationship.
Cheryl Fuller, executive director of the Domestic Abuse Council in Volusia County, agreed homicidal domestic violence occurs in relationships where there already were patterns of abuse. It is important for a victim to work with advocates in police departments on an individual safety plan, she said.
"They look at the individual situation where there is a pattern of abuse and find the lethality indicators," Fuller said.
Kate Blanton, victim advocate for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, said "every domestic violence victim could potentially be a homicide victim."
Situations can worsen when a judge orders the abuser not to have contact with the victim, or sets a jail bail bond the family cannot afford, Blanton said.
"Nowadays when someone loses a job and they have been arguing for years, the situation escalates to a dangerous level," she said.
Although a stalling economy doesn't cause domestic abuse, the rise can be attributed to many people left without jobs, increased numbers of foreclosures, or more homes where only one partner works, advocates say.
Nationally, three out of four domestic violence centers have seen an increase in demand for service due to job losses and financial problems, Namey said.
"It confirms what we are hearing in every corner of the country," he said. "We know that the economy does not cause domestic violence but it's like pouring gasoline on a fire. It's an exacerbating factor."
Volusia County has also seen a change in the number of victims of domestic violence since the economy started spiraling, Fuller said. In the last two years, most victims or families served by the council have said they are struggling financially, she said.
In fiscal year 2007-08, the Domestic Abuse Council attended to 3,991 crisis calls. In 2008-09, the center served 5,670 domestic violence victims.
"That's a 40 percent increase," Fuller said. "And we can see these figures remaining the same."
Similarly, advocates in Flagler County have seen a significant spike. Last year alone, there was a 75 percent increase in requests for shelter by abuse victims, Christen said.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REIGNS
Florida's Uniform Crime Report for 2009 showed reductions in every major crime, but domestic violence offenses rose dramatically. Overall, domestic violence represented 41 percent of all reported violent crimes last year, Christen said.
"These statistics are devastating, but we must remember they're not just numbers on a report: Each report represents men, women, and children whose lives have been turned upside down by someone who is supposed to love them," Christen said.
Every day, authorities handle a high number of domestic abuse calls.
In a 10-day period last month, Volusia deputies rushed to 40 calls of family disturbances. Incidents ranged from tiffs such as a daughter pouring potato chips on her mother's head or a boyfriend and girlfriend fighting at the flea market to serious calls like a son pulling a knife on his mother and a stepson racking a shotgun and threatening to "burn" his stepfather.
Three domestic violence-related homicides have occurred in Volusia County this year: Johnny Burke shot his ex-girlfriend, Robin Whitaker and her husband, Charles Whitaker, on June 8 in Deltona. On March 27, Richard Danao shot and killed Sarah Hille in Glenwood near DeLand. Steve Bowman was charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend, Rabbitt Burns, near Orange City on Jan. 12.
In Flagler County, Carl Martin, 50, chased his 35-year-old wife for 500 yards firing a .45 caliber pistol, killing her in September 2009. Shannon Martin died in front of a neighbor the day before she was to appear before a judge to ask for protection from her husband.
Deadly domestic abuse
2006
JAN. 19 (VOLUSIA): Harry Peters shoots his wife, Jean Peters, murder-suicide
JULY 25 (FLAGLER): Kevin Henderson, having money problems, shot his wife, Belinda, and his daughter, Corie, murders-suicide
AUG. 20 (VOLUSIA): Cathia McGill died from a blood clot directly attributable to an ankle injury sustained during a domestic -violence incident involving her boyfriend, David Davila
SEPT. 9 (VOLUSIA): Abraham Cregar died from burn injuries inflicted by his live-in girlfriend, Karianne Cregar
SEPT. 26 (VOLUSIA): George Parker stabbed Kenneth Givens as he slept in bed. Givens was with Parker's ex-girlfriend, Jane Owens.
2007
JAN. 9 (FLAGLER): Robert Everett shoots his ex-girlfriend, Lindsay Brown, dead inside a bar
FEB. 26 (VOLUSIA): Dolores Ramos shot his wife, Maria Ramos, as she tried to get out the door, murder-suicide
2008
JUNE 5 (VOLUSIA): Peggy Benjo shot in the head and killed as she slept by her husband, Robert Benjo
AUG. 4 (VOLUSIA): Craig Flynt pumped at least four bullets into the body of 31-year-old Kyishi Dowdell, just feet away from the living-room window where the estranged couple's four children stood
AUG. 21 (FLAGLER): William Gregory charged with shooting and killing his baby's mother, Skyler Meekins and her boyfriend, Daniel Dyer
DEC. 24 (VOLUSIA): Christina Barber, tried to leave Robert Deo, was shot and killed by Deo. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a wooded area of St. Johns County.
2009
MARCH 25 (VOLUSIA): Cindy Henderson and her son Louis Adams were shot and killed by her boyfriend, Bryan Langford, murder-suicide
JULY 29 (VOLUSIA): Julyann Rivera is shot in her home by husband Jesus Negron, murder-suicide
SEPT. 16 (FLAGLER): Carl Martin shoots his wife, Shannon, the day before she asked for an injunction, murder-suicide
2010
JAN. 12 (VOLUSIA): Steven Bowman charged with shooting and killing his girlfriend Rabbitt Burns
MARCH 27 (VOLUSIA): Richard Danao shoots Sarah Hille, murder-suicide
JUNE 8 (VOLUSIA): Johnnie Burke shoots his ex-girlfriend Robin Whitaker and her husband, Charles Whitaker, murders-suicide
JULY 21 (VOLUSIA): Christopher Jodon charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Jackie Miller, to death after running her off Interstate 4.
SOURCES: Flagler and Volusia County Sheriff's offices, Domestic Abuse Council Inc., The Family Life Center in Bunnell and News-Journal research
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