Bethlehem, PA: Trisha Sadler's murder 'devastating,' advocates for domestic violence victims say

The brutal murder of 29-year-old Trisha Sadler, who police believe was killed and dismembered by her boyfriend, William J. Ward, sparked anger and sadness among domestic violence advocates.
"It is disturbing and it is very hurtful," Heidi Markow, founder of the Beginning Over Foundation, said of the news late last week of Sadler's murder.


View full sizeTrisha Sadler
Sadler's death marked the fifth domestic violence-related killing in the Lehigh Valley in the past year and the third so far this year.

Just last month, Bethlehem police accused Luis Montero of killing Marjorie Reyes in front of two of their children in May on the second floor of her city home. Montero awaits a preliminary in his case.



Markow's sister, Robin Shaffer, was murdered in 2005 by her husband. Markow's foundation works to educate people about domestic violence, empower victims and aid victims and their families.


In a message posted on Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley's website, development director John Toner said the last year capped an extraordinary period of violence against women by the men in their lives.


Despite the killings though, Markow and others say there is hope, and victims can, and do find help and exits from dangerous, abusive relationships.
"There are groups that can help you," Bethlehem Lt. Mark DiLuzio. "You gotta tell someone and you gotta get out of that situation."

Sadler told her co-worker, Crystal Van Gorden just days before her death, police said, to call police if anything ever happened to her. Police said Sadler told Van Gorden about Ward's martial arts knowledge, that he abused her and that she planned to leave him.


Van Gorden contacted police Friday, according to court papers, after Sadler missed two days of work at Wells Fargo.

Markow said Van Gorden did the right thing, even though it was too late.

Police swarmed Sadler's home in the 1800 block of Cloverdale Road and after a six-hour standoff carried Ward from the home.


Sadler was stabbed to death, dismembered and placed into heavy duty trash bags, police said.


Markow said friends and family members of victims often get frustrated with victims' and their failure to break off with abusers or leave dangerous situations and relationships. She said it is easy to forsake victims, but that is what an abuser desires.
"Be there and never turn away," Markow said. "Be there and always show support. Don't ever give up."
DiLuzio said domestic homicides are the most difficult crime to prevent because they are so often crimes of passion and committed inside homes by people known to the victims. He added though that domestic violence situations often follow patterns of escalating violence, and that physical abusers often have backgrounds choked with assaults and other crimes.


Ward, 45, was on probation at the time of his arrest Friday, for an aggravated assault conviction from the 1980s. Police said he has a number of assault and other convictions on his rap sheet from the same time period. The mother of his child, who he lost a custody battle for earlier this year, filed for protection from abuse in Lehigh County in 2009, according to court papers.
"It is the same old story," Markow said. "Prior offenses. Prior assaults. Prior PFAs. It's the same old story."

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime rates plummeted in the past 30 years, and likewise domestic violence-related killings have decreased, but they remain a large subset of homicides.


DOJ data from 1976-2005 indicates there were three times as many domestic violence homicides than gang-related homicides.


DiLuzio, who has more than 30 years experience in law enforcement, said agencies like Turning Point, hospitals, the courts, police and others have access to counseling, shelters and other means to aid victims. He said an important step, like the one Sadler took with Van Gorden, is to reach out to friends.
"If you are in a violent relationship, confide in your friends. Tell someone what is going on," DiLuzio said. "There are a lot of services available. Confide just in case something happens."
DiLuzio said police may never have known what happened to Sadler, or they may have located her remains weeks later, if Van Gorden hadn't called to alert them.


Reyes' sister, Daisy Nastasi, of Phillipsburg, said she plans to work with Markow's foundation to better educate domestic violence victims. She said her family never would have thought Montero, the father of Reyes' three sons, could have killed her sister, but she saw warning signs.
"They were separated for five years," Nastasi said. "She tried to keep things civil for the kids' sake. He bullied his way into her life."
Montero shot Reyes multiple times in her home in front of two of her sons. Montero then shot himself and implored one of the sons to kill him, police said. According to court papers Montero was angry because Reyes was in another relationship.


Nastasi said the news of Sadler's death brought back memories of her sister.
"I am just once again sick to hear this stuff about domestic abuse," Nastasi said. "It angers me that this continues to go on."

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In the past year, the following murders tied to domestic violence have occurred in the Lehigh Valley:

Last June Michael Ballard slaughtered ex-girlfriend Denise Mehri, her father, grandfather and a neighbor in Mehri's Northampton home. He was sentenced to death in May.

In September, Barry Soldridge killed his ex-girlfriend, Candice Shuey and her boyfriend, Derek Henry, with a high-powered rifle in Lehigh Township, Northampton County.

Bethlehem police accused Luis Montero of killing Marjorie Reyes in front of two of their children in May on the second floor of her city home. Montero awaits a preliminary in his case.

David Rapoport, a married veterinarian, shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend, Jennifer Snyder, police said, in a rural stretch of Lehigh County in March. Rapoport is slated for trial later this year; Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin is seeking the death penalty.