By Erin Grace
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The man who kills a woman is rarely a stranger.
More than 90 percent of the time, a recent study found, he's someone she knows, usually intimately. Most often, he is her husband, her boyfriend, her ex.
He could have been Jeffrey Layten. But the 39-year-old Tekamah, Neb., man instead, after threatening his estranged wife, chose a violent path that ended with his own death Wednesday.
This latest high-profile case related to domestic violence — one Omaha woman was killed in March and two in July (one allegedly by her stepson) — comes just as Omaha, along with the rest of the nation, kicks off a month of domestic violence awareness events.
The mayors of Omaha and Council Bluffs met Thursday on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge to declare their support for domestic violence victims. Both cities later held candlelight vigils.
Three candles were lit for four Douglas County women who died in 2009.
“I stand here today as a symbol of hope,” said Felicia Frezell, a mother of five whose ex-husband raped and brutalized her twice while he was an inmate on work release in 2004.
The former YWCA client is now an advocate for women and teens. Thursday's 15th annual event, organizers said, was as much about helping survivors to move forward as remembering the lives that have been lost.
Nationwide, more than 1,800 women were killed by men in 2008 and, in the cases where relationships could be determined, 92 percent were killed by someone they knew, according to a report issued by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., in time for October's awareness efforts.
Twelve times as many women (1,564 victims) were murdered by a man they knew than by male strangers (130 victims).
Where the weapon could be determined, 52 percent involved firearms.
“We started doing this (study) to counter the idea that women should fear stranger attack,” said Kristen Rand, legislative director for the nonprofit advocacy group. “We hope it spurs women who are in these types of situations to seek out help.” The group also hopes that communities will make more resources available and that authorities will quickly remove firearms from domestic violence situations.
The federal Violence Against Women Act of 1994 made it illegal for anyone with a domestic violence conviction to possess a firearm. Nebraska statutes generally prohibit those subject to court-affirmed protection orders from possessing guns. Iowans who are subject to a protective order or have been convicted of domestic abuse similarly were barred from possessing firearms as of July 1.
Other strides locally include the opening of a one-stop shop in downtown Omaha for domestic violence victims called the Family Justice Center. Nebraska schools as of July 1 are required by state law to begin educating about dating violence. And the Women's Fund of Greater Omaha has commissioned a study of domestic violence services.
Still, for the victims — overwhelmingly women — who are living with violent partners, the subject is tender, taboo or downright dangerous.
Attorney Elaine D'Amato said she represented a Sarpy County woman who three times this year had called 911 to complain about her husband. Yet during a protection order hearing, the woman insisted to the judge and D'Amato that she loved her husband, couldn't see living in a shelter and wasn't prepared to leave.
“Women need to know they can speak up and have it stopped because it's not going to stop on its own,” said D'Amato, a Legal Aid of Nebraska attorney who almost exclusively focuses on civil matters related to domestic violence.
Sue Michalski, training and education director for Omaha's Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, called the Layten case “terrible and timely.”
Jeffrey Layten's wife, Courtney, told authorities that Layten had assaulted her Tuesday night at her home near Tekamah. She said he told her he was heading to La Vista to kill her mother and sister.
Layten's friends said that he had been upset over his troubled marriage and that his wife had told him she was going to divorce him.
Michalski said the case should prompt any woman in a violent relationship to ask herself some hard questions: Does your partner have a past history of violence? Does your partner have access to guns? Has your partner used threats of harm against himself or others to control a situation? Does your partner use alcohol or drugs?
Michalski said the message she wants victims to get is that there's help available.
“We will believe them, we will empower them,” she said. “This doesn't necessarily mean they leave that situation (immediately). We want to make sure they have a safety plan, that they have a protection order, that they have support of others in the community that can help them maneuver through the system.”
She and other advocates say that often family and friends don't have much idea about the violence that is occurring behind closed doors.
“It can be very hard to identify them,” Michalski said of violent partners. “They're very good at masking what they don't want others to see.”
Thursday evening's vigil at Omaha's Stinson Park drew more than 100 people, including Kay Scheinost, whose daughter Kim Cox was killed Nov. 9, 1998, in Omaha.
“We need to educate more so no other parents lose their daughters,” she said.
Contact the writer:
444-1136, erin.grace@owh.com
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