Staten Island, NY: STATEN ISLAND MAN KILLS WIFE, CAT AND HIMSELF: SOURCES

By TIM PERONE

August 27, 2009 --

A Staten Island man called 911 this morning with a startling message.

"I just shot my wife," John Pizon told emergency workers, explaining it was an "accident."

But when authorities arrived at their Heartland Village home, they found the body of Pizon, his mortally wounded wife Karen and a dead pet cat. Sources said Pizon had turned the gun on himself immediately after his frantic 911 call.

Sources said the couple were arguing about financial problems when shortly before 10 a.m. John Pizon fired a .22 caliber bullet into the back of his wife's head.

He then placed the call to 911 and told them the door would be unlocked when emergency workers arrived.

When they showed up, the 52-year-old husband was lying on the floor, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. His 50-year-old wife was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North, where she died about an hour later.

The carcass of the shot cat was also found.

Burton, MI: Flint man arrested in stabbing death of girlfriend at Burton motel

by Laura Angus | Flint Journal

Tuesday August 25, 2009, 2:38 PM

BURTON, Michigan — Police say a Flint couple had been drinking and arguing before the 29-year-old boyfriend allegedly stabbed his girlfriend, 26, to death early this morning at Crank's Motel on Hemphill Road.

A motel clerk called police shortly after midnight, and the victim was taken to the Hurley Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to police.

Rhea Patel, a desk clerk at Crank's Motel, said the couple checked in five days ago and were staying on a weekly rate. She said the suspect used a wheelchair.

Witness Anthony McGaughy, 46, said prior to the altercation between the suspect and victim, the victim had argued with another woman to protect her boyfried from getting tipped out of his wheelchair.

Later, the couple started arguing.

"He kept telling her, 'Quit disrespecting me,'" he said.

The names of the victim and the suspect have not yet been released. Detective Shawn Duncanson of the Burton Police Department said he expects the suspect to be arraigned tomorrow afternoon.

Valencia, CA: Valencia shooter identified

The 79-year-old man died of his self-inflicted wound, estranged wife expected to survive

Coroner’s officials on Tuesday identified a 79-year-old man whom investigators said killed himself after shooting his estranged wife at least twice in his Valencia condominium.

Herbert Nieto died hours after the Monday night shooting, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. The victim, whose name was not released, survived with bullet wounds to her arm and buttocks.

The couple had been legally separated for about a decade, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Darren Harris.

About 7 p.m. Monday, Nieto fired several shots inside the condominium unit, wounding the woman. She ran outside and screamed for help, witnesses said.

Nieto shot himself in the head as sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene moments later. He and the victim were rushed to a local hospital, where Nieto died.

This marked the third deadly domestic-violence incident in the last two months.

On Aug. 9, sheriff’s detectives said a 22-year-old man strangled his girlfriend in her Canyon Country bedroom. In mid-July, another Canyon Country man strangled his wife and hanged himself as the couple went through a divorce.

Mooresburg, TN: Standoff ends with murder-suicide, 3 dead in Hawkins Co.

Posted: Aug 24, 2009 11:03 PM EDTUpdated: Aug 26, 2009 10:15 AM EDT

The standoff ended after nearly 10 hours at a barn at 443 Mooresburg Springs Road, authorities said.

By WHITNEY HOLMES
6 News Anchor/Reporter

MOORESBURG (WATE) -- Two men and a woman were killed in a murder - suicide Tuesday during a standoff with law enforcement in a Hawkins County barn.

Investigators believe one of the dead men, Darran Blevins, who was in his 20s, is the shooter.

The victims were Blevins' ex-stepfather, Dennis Christian, who was in his mid-60s, and Christian's live-in girlfriend, Brandy Seal, who was in her 20s.

The standoff ended after nearly 10 hours at a barn at 443 Mooresburg Springs Road, authorities said.

At least 40 officers from several agencies were on the scene at the height of the standoff, waiting to make entry into the barn.

Three nearby homes were also evacuated as a precaution.

Laura Fugate was sitting on her porch when she heard the shots.

"I heard a gunshot and then I heard someone scream just a real loud scream and I told my son You go out and look. There must be something wrong at the barn," Fugate said.

Her son said everything looked okay, but minutes later officers started arriving. "I knew there was something wrong," she said.

Hawkins County deputies got on the scene around 8:00 p.m. after they say a woman in the barn called about a domestic situation.

When officers arrived, they saw a man with a gun in the barn.

"A suspect came to a window, displayed a gun to the officers and discharged a round. That is the last contact we had with anyone in the house," said Det. Randy Collier with the Hawkins County Sheriff's Department.

All night, officers tried to negotiate with Blevins. At 4:00 a.m., they went in and found the bodies of Christian and Seal downstairs.

"At that time, our tactical unit heard footsteps upstairs so we backed out and tried to renegotiate and make contact with the suspect upstairs," said Det. Collier.

About an hour later, Fugate says she heard one more gun shot.

Around that time, officers moved in with a tactical unit, where they found Blevins in the upstairs level of the barn, who was also dead.

Fugate says she knew one of the victims and can't believe he'd lose his life like this. "I thought we lived in a safe community, but I don't know if you are safe anywhere anymore."

The bodies were sent to ETSU for autopsies.

Multiple weapons were found inside the barn.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation.

Barneveld, NY: Name released in murder/suicide case

Originally printed at http://www.wktv.com/news/local/55221732.html

BARNEVELD, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Jefferson County Sheriff's have released the name of the man they believe is responsible for the murder of Barneveld native, Danielle Hudon, and himself.

Joseph Dawson, 27, was dating, and living with Hudon. Police say he took both of their lives.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office says Hudon died of multiple gunshot wounds. While, Dawson died of a single gunshot to the head.

The couple's landlord says he had received notice from Dawson and the former Holland Patent student, Hudon, that they were moving out.

There is speculation that she was preparing to move back to the area.

Pompano Beach, FL: Murder fugitive arrested -- woman killed, found by her children

2009-08-25 21:51:27

A fugitive was on the run for almost five years after police say he killed his girlfriend with a sledge hammer. Investigators say he left her body for her children to find the next morning and their family has never been the same. Investigators caught up with the suspect and we caught up with the local grandmother who is finally hoping to find some closure over her daughter's murder.

She waited five long years to hear that Jorge Villamizar-Ayala was arrested. She hopes to finally see justice. Evelyn Valle tells us, "I'm glad they finally caught him so that what happened to my daughter will not happen to anyone else."

Police say in Novemer 2004, Jorge Villamizar- Ayala used a sledge hammer to kill his girlfriend, 25 year old Bianca Sierra, in Pompano Beach while she was sleeping. Her children, ages 6 and 9, were the ones to find her body the next morning. Valle says it forever changed their lives, "He just left.. The kids got up to go to school and went looking for her and found her in the room."

Evelyn Valle now feels an overwhelming sense of relief. She smiles now knowing her daughter's alleged killer is back in this area and back behind bars and she's ready to face him in court, saying, "I want to see him to make sure it's him with... my own eyes... now you're here to pay for what you did."

Villamizar-Ayala has been on the run since the murder. Investigators thought he might be dead by now, but Valle didn't think so, "I felt in my heart that he's not.. The he's somewhere... I felt like he was alive somewhere." She was right.

A tipster called the authorities after recognizing him on America's Most Wanted and he was picked up in Brownsville, Texas. Valle says, "I feel he should get life and never walk the streets again."

The former fugitive is facing first degree murder charges here, but he's also wanted for an attempted murder in New York, a homicide in Columbia, crimes against children in Colombia, and a sexual assault on a minor in Houston, Texas. He is being held without bond. Tara Cardoso, CBS 12 News.

Marshallton, DE: Couples deaths ruled murder-suicide

By TERRI SANGINITI
The News Journal

The state Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that the deaths Monday of a Marshallton couple was a murder-suicide.

New Castle County police officers summoned to the home about noon in the 3800 block of Orchard Road in Marshallton Heights found the pair dead of apparent gunshot wounds.

A female friend of the man went to the home after he missed an appointment and found the front door open. She telephoned police to check on his welfare.

Officers arrived and found the man and woman dead of apparent gunshot wounds, said Major Michael McGowan, a county police spokesman.

They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Jay Lynch, deputy principal assistant for the state Health and Social Services, identified the victims as Bonnie Rowe, 60, and William Rowe III, 52.

An autopsy revealed Bonnie Rowe had been shot in the head.

Her death had been ruled a homicide, Lynch said.

William Rowe then turned the gun on himself.

His death has been ruled a suicide.

County police detectives are continuing to investigate.

Palm Harbor, FL: Authorities: Palm Harbor couple in murder-suicide had health problems

By Rita Farlow, Times Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, August 26, 2009

---

PALM HARBOR — A Palm Harbor man shot his wife, then turned the gun on himself, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office authorities said Wednesday in confirming a murder-suicide.

The elderly couple were found dead about 10 p.m. Monday by their adult son, who went to his parents' home at 2059 Sandpiper Drive to check on them.

John and Dorothy Aloizakis, both 86, were both "in declining health," said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha.

Investigators did not find a suicide note, Pasha said.

Winter Haven, FL: Bodies of man, 57, and 21-year-old girlfriend found in grove

Kevin P. Connolly

Sentinel Staff Writer

3:48 PM EDT, August 26, 2009

Authorities today found the bodies of a Winter Haven man and his 21-year-old live-in girlfriend in an orange grove in what officials described as an apparent murder-suicide.

The discovery comes after the Polk County Sheriff's Office asked the public to help it locate John "Jack" M. Nicholson, 57, who was accused of shooting Kristy Lisenby at around 5:29 a.m. Tuesday in front of Jarrett Gordon Ford, 3015 Lake Alfred Road, Winter Haven.

After the agency issued the alert, their bodies were found in an orange grove on the corner of Pearce Road and Lakeview Court in Winter Haven.

An autopsy will determine how they died.

Their bodies were found at around 10 a.m. near Nicholson's gray 1991 Ford Explorer 2-door Sport, which was parked near trees on the north edge of the grove, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Authorities were looking for the couple since Tuesday's shooting in front of Jarrett Gordon Ford.

Witnesses told authorities a man driving an SUV and thought to be Nicholson pulled alongside a woman, who was later identified as Lisenby.

"Lisenby was then observed to walk to the vehicle, lean into the passenger window and at the same time, witnesses say they observed the driver, a male, raise an unknown type of gun at the victim. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot,'' according to news release.

"Witnesses reported they then saw Lisenby fall to the ground. The driver then exited the SUV, walked around picked up the victim, and placed her in the passenger seat. The suspect then drove away from the scene. "

Before the shooting, at about 4:30 p.m., a witness told detectives that Nicholson had pointed a firearm at another female who was an acquaintance of Lisenby's and demanded to know the whereabouts of his girlfriend.

An arrest warrant was issued for Nicholson on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Nicholson's prior criminal arrest history includes charges of simple assault, robbery, trespass, two counts of theft, shoplifting and an unspecified weapons offense out of New Jersey during the early 1980s.

Van Zandt County, TX: Man kills woman, then himself

Written by Kmoo News

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 08:14

A Van Zandt County man shot his wife's grandmother and then turned the gun on himself. Deputies say they received a 9-1-1 call around 3 p.m. Monday from a woman who said her husband had shot her grandmother. Deputes responded to an address near Wills Point on County Road 3818. The woman told officers there was a three-year-old child in the home with her as well. However, before deputies could arrive, the man walked out on to the front porch of the home, put the gun to his head took his own life. Once on the scene, authorities found 25-year-old Jason Godwin dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities say they also found 62-year-old Ethel Crouch dead, the apparent victim of two gun shots. Both bodies have been take to Dallas autopsies.

Lebanon, TN: Firefighter Arrested, He Claims Wife Killed Herself

Posted: Aug 24, 2009 8:07 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Lebanon firefighter's claim that his wife killed herself could be bolstered by an earlier police report.

NewsChannel 5 has proof that 38-year-old Carla Forbes Hicks whose body was found dumped in the woods last week attempted suicide just this year.

The Wilson County Sheriff, Terry Ashe, said Carla Hicks had plastic around her head, face and hands. There was also rope on or near her body.

Ashe said the items found were signs of how she was transported to the area and not how she died.

"It's pretty despicable - the way he did this, and the environment, in which he left his wife in," said Ashe.

The sheriff cannot separate the woman's death and where her body wound-up. He's skeptical that Mike Hicks, a trained emergency responder, did nothing to help. He's charged with, not killing his wife, Carla Hicks, but hiding her body in the woods.

"Did you have anything to do with your wife's death?" asked reporter Brent Frazier.

"No," said Hicks.

"What do you think of the charges of abuse of a corpse?" asked Frazier.

"Excuse me," said Hicks.

Hicks asked a buddy to help him change all four tires on his Jeep Wrangler last week. The tire tracks could place Hicks at the scene.

"She had been there at least two days. I'm not trying to play medical examiner, but uh she was decomposing very rapidly. I would think that would have to do with the heat," said Ashe.

Ashe is skeptical of Hicks's claim his wife died at her own hands. NewsChannel 5 has obtained a Murfreesboro police report, originating at the couple's home on Betsy Ann Avenue.

A complaint from this spring stated that Carla Hicks had swallowed 30-xanex and half a bottle of aspirin. Mrs. Hicks, according to the report, was trying to harm herself.

Hicks's employer is playing damage control during the investigation.

"Right now, he's suspended with pay," said Lebanon Fire Chief Chris Dowell. "We can go down the road, and there's nothing changed with the Lebanon Fire Department. I mean, you got to separate the two somehow."

Dowell called Mike Hicks a typically exemplary firefighter, but one who's been written-up lately for missing work, running late and even falling asleep on the job.

The 43-year-old was also arraigned Monday on the charge of abuse of a corpse, which is a class D felony. The firefighter did not enter a plea.

Hicks slept in jail Sunday night, and then the Lebanon City firefighter was released at 10:30 a.m. Monday on $10,000 bond.

Investigators said the autopsy on Carla's body was inconclusive, so a cause of death is unknown so far.

Delray, FL: Delray elderly couple dies in murder-suicide

DELRAY BEACH, Fl --Carl Sims, 83, did not leave a note or anything indicating why he chooses to take his life. Police believe it was the agony of medical issues that led Sims to shoot his wife of 15 years Florence, 86, in the head, before turning the gun on himself. A similar incident happened this Saturday in Jensen Beach. Police say an 84 year old man shot his 76 year old wife several times, then killed himself. Advocates for the elderly say there is plenty of support in South Florida for seniors who feel their situation is desperate. The Centers for Disease Control says there are 5 main reasons for elderly suicide. 1. The recent death of a loved one 2. Physical illness, uncontrollable pain or the fear of a prolonged illness 3. Perceived poor health 4. Social isolation and loneliness 5. Major changes in social roles (e.g. retirement) Brenda Bryant is the Vice president of the Mae Volen Center in Boca Raton, she says the center offers many options, like the Active Senior program and Adult Day Care that can help the elderly cope with the stress. "It is not going to be returning them to being 20 and athletic, but it will be an option that might make life more tolerable for them," said Bryant.

Indian Hills, CO: Jefferson County couple found Sunday died in a murder-suicide

The Denver Post

POSTED: 08/25/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

UPDATED: 08/25/2009 01:39:00 AM MDT

Investigators said Monday that the man and woman found dead in an Indian Hills home Sunday afternoon died in a murder-suicide.

No names were released Monday afternoon, pending the notification of next of kin.

Both were 27 years old and thought to be the current renters of the home in the 23000 block of Kiowa Road near Parmalee Gulch Road, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

They both died of gunshot wounds, and evidence indicates the shots were fired by the man, according to the statement from investigators.

Spokane Valley, WA: Valley man arrested in death of girlfriend

Neighbors on North Bowman Road in Spokane Valley were shocked by a homicide that happened in their midst Saturday evening when a 33-year-old pregnant woman was killed, allegedly by her 19-year-old boyfriend.

Robbie W. Bishop, of Spokane Valley, was booked into the Spokane County Jail shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday and faces charges of second-degree murder.

The two were staying temporarily with a family at a North Bowman Road home, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Neither Sgt. Dave Reagan nor the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office would release the victim’s identity. Neighbors did not know who the two were but said that they had moved in within the past week and a half.

An investigator with the medical examiner’s office said late Sunday evening that the victim’s identity would not be released until her family had been notified. However, Reagan in an earlier press release said her next of kin had been reached.

Dispatchers received a 911 call just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday reporting an assault at a home in the 900 block of North Bowman.

Neighbors said officers surrounded the home and locked down the neighborhood.

Reagan said in a news release that officers found the 33-year-old woman dead on the living room floor. The family that permanently lives there was not at home at the time, he said.

Reagan said blood evidence led officers out the back of the house and to a house to the south. They searched that home but didn’t find a suspect.

At 9:40 p.m., a neighbor reported a man whom police later identified as Bishop hiding in a stored boat two blocks north of the North Bowman home. Bishop ran but was captured in the 7300 block of East Cataldo Avenue, a short distance from the crime scene.

Echo, AL: Man shot by cops threatened girlfriend's livestock, police say

Aug 23, 2009 (Dothan Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An Echo man shot and killed by police Saturday after he fired a handgun at them had previously made threats to kill his girlfriend's livestock and could be heard shooting a gun on voicemail messages to her, according to authorities.

Bruce Higdon, 52, of County Road 59 was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. at Dale Medical Center. Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said Higdon was shot after he pulled a gun on three police officers sent to his residence to contact him about harassing phone calls he had made to his girlfriend.

"It's a bad situation and my heart goes out to the (Higdon's) family," Olson said. "It's something in our job that we hate to experience."Two Dale County Sheriff's deputies and one Ozark police officer were dispatched to Higdon's residence after receiving reports that Higdon had been threatening to kill his girlfriend's livestock. Olson said Higdon could be heard shooting a gun in voicemail messages he had left for her. Higdon had a history of run-ins with the law, including a 2007 arrest for possession of a gambling device and previous arrests for assault and harassing communications, and driving under the influence.

The officers arrived at Hidgon's residence after 6 p.m. Saturday. According to police reports, they came to the rear door of the residence and asked Higdon to come out and speak with them. Higdon came to the rear door asked the officers if he could get his gun, the officers told them he could not.

The report says that Higdon went back into the home and then came out on the back porch. Police asked Higdon to show his hands, but refused he to comply. The police then shot Higdon with a Taser, but the device did not subdue him. Higdon re-entered the home and came back out again, this time with a handgun. The police shot Higdon with a Taser again, but Higdon shrugged off it's effects and pulled the Taser barbs from his body.

The police report says Higdon then began waving the weapon and threatened to shoot the officers. He was told to drop the weapon, but he eventually fired a round at the officers. The police then returned fire, striking Higdon.

While all this was going on, Higdon's elderly, infirm father was present in the residence, Olson said.

After Higdon was shot, the officers began adminstering medical treatment to him and called an ambulance. He was transported to Dale Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. by Dale County Coroner Woody Hiilboldt.

The officers involved in the shooting have all been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the ABI. Olson and Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey said this is routine in such incidents, and they believe the officers responded appropriately.

An autopsy is being performed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Spivey said he believes Higdon was intoxicated at the time of the confrontation, explaining his ability to resist the effects of the Taser.

Columbia, SC: Domestic Dispute Turns Deadly

By Jerrita Patterson
Monday, August 24, 2009 at 1:30 a.m.

Investigators say around 11:00 pm on Saturday, a man gunned down his girlfriend. But that wasn't the end of this cold-blooded crime.

By Sunday, Lexington County deputies uncovered more than they bargained for during a routine traffic stop.

"The vehicle sped off. We ended up at the zoo in Columbia where the individual got out of the truck went down to the river," said Lexington County Sheriff James Metts. "(He) yelled at the officers he couldn't live with himself with what he had done."

The man Sheriff Metts is talking about is 32-year-old Jason Wayne Strickland. And what he had done--according to investigators--was killed his girlfriend Lisa Bacon, in a bit of rage. The murder happened inside a home on Hayride Road.

"We believe he killed his live-in girlfriend at the home, put her in the truck and put the spare tire on top of her body to keep her from rolling around in the back of the truck," said Metts.

When Lexington County officers finally caught up with Strickland in Columbia, things took another deadly turn.

"They tried to get him to stop but he kept walking," said Metts. "And he went into the river and put the gun on himself and killed himself. It happened in just seconds."

In just a short amount of time the lives of several families have been turned upside down.

"We are talking with people in the community to see if we can find out what might have happened," said Metts. "And trying to learn something about these two individuals."

Sheriff Metts calls it a ruthless crime that has rattled a community.

Lexington County will oversee the murder, since it happened within county lines; and Columbia Police will investigate the suicide.

Buena Park, CA: Suspect in model's murder found dead in Canada

(CNN) -- Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a reality TV contestant suspected in his wife's slaying, was found hanging from a coat rack in a motel room in an apparent suicide, according to Canadian officials.

Staff at a motel in Hope, British Columbia, found Jenkins dead, officials said.

"It was a man hanging by a belt from a coat rack," Kevin Walker, the manager of the budget Thunderbird Motel, told CNN affiliate CTV on Sunday.

Walker said a woman, about 20 to 25 years old, dropped off Jenkins at the motel on Friday in a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser with Alberta tags. Police have not been able to identify the woman. Watch how suspect found in hotel »

Earlier Sunday, Canadian authorities said they had credible information that Jenkins was in Canada and called on him to turn himself in. He was believed to be armed and dangerous. Watch what led police to hotel room »

The nude body of Jenkins' wife, former swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, was found last weekend in Orange County, California. CNN has not confirmed reports that the marriage was annulled.

Fiore's body was found last Saturday in a Dumpster behind an apartment complex in Buena Park, just outside Anaheim, California. Her teeth had been extracted and fingers removed in what police said was an apparent attempt to conceal her identity.

Law enforcement sources have told CNN that Fiore was identified through the serial numbers on her breast implants.

Fiore lived in Los Angeles and was last seen alive in San Diego at a poker game with Jenkins, the night before the body was found.

Jenkins reported Fiore missing last Saturday night to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, authorities said.

The body was identified Monday as Fiore. While the cause of death had not been confirmed, a preliminary coroner's report indicated she was strangled.

According to court records in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jenkins was charged in June with battery for allegedly striking Fiore in the arm with his fist.

And in 2007, Jenkins pleaded guilty in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to assault in a separate case. He was sentenced to 15 months probation, ordered to undergo counseling for domestic violence and sex addiction and to stay away from the person involved, according to court records.

Jenkins, who appeared on the VH1 show "Megan Wants a Millionaire," is from Calgary.

51Minds, which produced "Megan Wants a Millionaire," said Thursday in a written statement that it "was not aware of Ryan Jenkins' record when it cast him.

"The company did have in place what it thought was a thorough vetting process that involved complete background checks by an outside company for all contestants on its shows," it said. "Clearly, the process did not work properly in this case. 51 Minds is investigating what went wrong and taking steps to ensure that this sort of lapse never occurs again."

Column: Changing the face of domestic violence

Posted by Susan Harrison Wolffis | Chronicle columnist August 23, 2009 06:21AM

Chances are, we'd never have heard of Anthony J. Peters, a 20-year-old thug, if he hadn't beaten up Milwaukee's mayor last week outside the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds.

If Peters had pounded and pummeled and bullied his intended victim -- the grandmother of his 1-year-old daughter -- he'd have been just another assailant in a long list of men who terrorize women every day of the week.

But it was Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett who stepped into the fray when he heard the woman's call for help. Peters had taken her cellphone, and she was crying out to people in the crowd, begging them to call police.

Barrett stepped forward, according to reports, and was asking Peters to calm down when Peters turned on him. Barrett, 55, used his body to shield the woman and baby. He took the blows, the punches, the unleashed violence in their stead.

When police arrived on the scene, the mayor was lying in a pool of blood. Peters had beaten him with a metal pipe, fracturing the mayor's arm, cutting his face and head, hitting him with such force that he knocked out some of Barrett's teeth.

Had the woman been the one beaten, the assault would have been one more line in a police log -- time, date, domestic violence call -- unless he'd killed her or the child. But because it was the mayor who bore the brunt of the violence, it made headlines.

And his actions forced a conversation about domestic violence this nation continues to avoid, at great cost.

Through the week, we heard these updates: Peters, who has an extensive record of violent behavior, was taken into police custody. His relationship with his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of the 1-year-old at the fair, is complicated and messy. Neighbors report that he stalked her after their breakup, standing outside the house, watching her every move. Friends say he was "desperate." Peters wrote on Facebook that "everyone has a story to tell" and his was going to end either in death or prison.

Barrett was released from the hospital after surgery and was back to work by midweek, issuing thanks to his niece for making the 911 call and praising the police for quick action. He deflected all praise. He said it was simply the right thing to do.

The rest of us were left asking ourselves a string of questions: What would we have done in Barrett's situation? Would we have looked the other way when the woman begged for help? Figured it was none of our business? That whatever the dispute, it was between the man and the woman? That it appeared to be too dangerous to intercede?

All good questions, soul-searching questions, important questions. But the one that really begs to be asked is: How do we end domestic violence?

For years, the quest was seen as the exclusive domain of women, a cause borne out of the women's movement -- but lately, the tables have turned. Experts say there will never be an end to the epidemic of domestic violence until men begin to hold other men accountable for their actions.

Until, in effect, men say to one another: Knock it off. Violence is never the answer.

That's what Tom Barrett did last week, if not in specific words, certainly by his action and intervention. And when he stood in front of the cameras a few days later at his first press conference, his face bruised and cut, his arm in a cast?

His image was a powerful reminder of the 5.3 million women who are the victims of domestic violence every year.

Pesotum, IL: Indiana couple found at rest area died of stab wounds

By Mary Schenk

Saturday August 22, 2009

PESOTUM — Authorities think a northwestern Indiana man killed his wife, then drove to Champaign County on Friday, where he killed himself.

Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said Saturday that both Jaime Rodriguez, 52, and his wife, Maria Rodriguez, 50, of Ogden Dunes, Ind., died of multiple stab wounds.

Their bodies were discovered Friday afternoon at an Interstate 57 rest area near Pesotum on the southbound side of the highway. Their deaths are being investigated by the Porter County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department, the Illinois State Police, and Northrup’s office.

Northrup said Indiana State Police sent out an alert Friday to other police agencies that they were looking for the Rodriguezes’ car. Some time after 1:20 p.m., an Illinois State trooper from the Pesotum post saw a car matching the description at the Illini Prairie rest area and stopped.

Northrup said Mr. Rodriguez’s body was in the back seat, a knife protruding from his body. Mrs. Rodriguez was found in the trunk, her body wrapped. Although both had been dead a while, they were pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m.

A spokesman for the Porter County Sheriff’s Department in Valparaiso, Ind., did not return a call Saturday seeking information on what happened in that county that led police to be looking for the couple. Northrup said he was told that Mrs. Rodriguez had not shown up for work earlier this week.

“I believe he died in Illinois. I believe she died in Indiana. I don’t know when,” Northrup said. “They’re still trying to piece together what happened in Indiana.”

Northrup said the couple has three adult sons, who were notified of their parents’ deaths by police in Indiana.

An inquest may be held later, he said.

Ontario, CA: Man kills 2, kidnaps ex-girlfriend

Saturday, August 22, 2009

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- Three people were killed and a woman was kidnapped in a murder-suicide in Ontario, police said Saturday.

Officers were called to the scene of a shooting at house on the 2700 block of East Chaparral Street at about 5:30 a.m. When officers entered the home they found a 21-year-old male and his 48-year-old mother shot to death. Their names have not been released.

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The gunman, Joey Demello, 25, is believed to be the ex-boyfriend of Ashlee Saldana, who was staying at the house that night. After the shooting Demello took Saldana from the home against her will.

Officers later found Demello's body at a trailer park near the California-Nevada Border. Investigators said he shot himself. Saldana was found near the scene but was not hurt.

Officers said Demello was on active parole.