HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 01-31 Domestic violence 2016 death toll in Minnesota: 21 PIONEER PRESS2/1/2017
Domestic violence 2016 death toll in Minnesota: 21 —Twin Cities
NEWS
Domestic violence 2016 death
toll in Minnesota: 21
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PUBLISHED: January 31, 2017 at 9:21 am I UPDATED: January 31, 2017 at 5:25 pm
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2/1/2017
Domestic violence 2016 death toll in Minnesota: 21 —Twin Cities
At least 21 people died as a result of domestic violence in the state last year,
according to a report released Tuesday by the Minnesota Coalition for Battered
Women.
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In one-third of the cases, children were present when their mother was killed or when
her body was discovered, according to the 2016 IFemicide Report. Two of the 21
victims were children —10 -year-old Nahily Ronquillo and 13 -year-old Luis
Ronquillo, Fatally shot by their father in Minneapolis in September as he attempted to
kill their mother.
"The trauma of children witnessing violence cannot be understated," said Erica
Staab-Absher, executive director of HOPE Center in Faribault, speaking at the release
of the annual report in St. Paul. She pointed to the case of Courtney Monson, 30,
from Ramsey in April.
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Domestic violence 2016 death toll in Minnesota: 21 —Twin Cities
Courti ney Monson (Couirtesy Iphoto)
Monson's four children, ages 2 to 12, were at their house at the time of her shooting.
She took refuge with three of them in her basement when her husband shot her
multiple times before killing himself.
"Her children begged for their lives after watching their mother shot dead," Staab-
Absher said. "Her 12 -year-old son held his 2 -year-old sister and ran to safety as his
mother was being murdered. In the past five years, over 150 children have lost their
mother due to domestic violence."
The Femicide Report recommends family court and child protective services should
assess for domestic violence and their responses should take violence into account.
The 21 homicides recorded in the report released Tuesday include 18 women who
were killed by a current or former intimate partner, two family members and one
bystander. The 2015 Femicide Report documented 34 cases.
"We do not diminish the lives lost by describing greater or lesser numbers as a trend,"
said Becky Smith, Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women's program manager for
public awareness. "I n fact, throughout the 28 years of the Femicide Report, the
number of victims murdered due to domestic violence has consistently remained in
the double digits."
About 80 percent of female homicide victims in Minnesota between 2005 and 2015
died in domestic violence cases, according to the coalition.
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Domestic violence 2016 death toll in Minnesota: 21 —Twin Cities
In last year's instances, at least five of the perpetrators had documented histories of
past abuse, Smith said. Antonio St. Marie, who is charged with murder in the shooting
of Ibis wile in Wadena in November, "has a long documented history," she said.
In 2009, St. Marie threatened to kill an ex -girlfriend's family members and was
convicted of terroristic threats, notes the report. In 2011, St. Marie threatened to kill
another ex-girlfriend, choked her, and assaulted her and other relatives with a knife;
he was convicted of felony domestic assault.
Last November, St. Marie was charged with felony domestic against his wife, 27 -year-
old Margaret St. Marie. He bailed out of jail, then went and held St. Marie, their 3 -year-
old, and his wife's brother "hostage as he threatened them with a firearm," according
to the report.
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A few hours later, when Margaret St. Marie pleaded with Antonio St. Marie to let her
brother leave with her child, "after she hugged her brother and child good-bye,
Antonio shot and killed her," the report continued, noting a domestic abuse no -
contact order was in effect at the time.
"We need the criminal justice system to engage in a process that demands serious
change for batterers," Smith said. "Without addressing the root causes of abuse and
changing perpetrators' behavior, there will always be another victim."
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