Coalition report: 54 domestic violence killings in R.I. in 10 years

Among its recommendations, the Coalition Against Domestic Violence report states that Rhode Island should screen all domestic violence cases for "lethality risk factors" before decisions are made about bail.
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By Donita Naylor
Journal Staff Writer


PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In releasing its report on the 54 people killed by domestic violence in the last 10 years, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence on Thursday offered five ways to prevent such deaths in the future.

The victims, mostly women killed by men -- who also include men killed by women, bystanders killed along with the intended victim, and parents killed by sons -- were remembered in a State House ceremony Thursday morning.

The coalition's executive director, Deborah DeBare, addressed about 75 people, including judges, a police chief, community leaders, advocates and friends and relatives of people killed by domestic violence.

As 54 candles flickered on a table between two lists of the victims' names, DeBare urged everyone "to take a report, read it and do everything you can to reach out to anyone who may be at risk."

The report, which studied 48 fatal incidents in the state from 2006 through 2015, recommended that Rhode Island:

-- Screen all domestic violence criminal cases for "lethality risk factors" before decisions are made about bail and level of supervision.

-- Invest in the coordination between law enforcement, courts, victim advocates and victim services, and increase funding for those programs.

-- Make it illegal to possess a firearm for anyone convicted of domestic violence or under a domestic violence restraining order.

-- Strengthen laws against stalking and enforce protective orders more consistently.

-- Fund programs that prevent domestic violence.

In 41 of the 48 incidents, a current or former intimate partner was the suspect. The largest category of victim was someone in a dating relationship with the killer, accounting for 20 of the dead. Nine victims were married to their killer, 8 were unmarried but shared at least one child, and 2 were divorced from the suspected killer.

There were 5 family murder incidents that claimed 7 lives. All were parents killed by sons. In 2 cases, both parents were killed. In 3 cases, the mother was the victim.

Six people died because they were present when the killer attacked the intended victim. In one case, the bystander died and the intended victim escaped. Two victims were neither related nor in an intimate relationship but lived with the perpetrator.

In Rhode Island, domestic violence is defined as occurring between current or former spouses, people with a child in common, people who dated each other substantively within the past year, adults related by blood or marriage, or adults who have lived together within the last three years.

The report did not count cases determined to be self-defense, cases in which the perpetrator was found not guilty by reason of insanity or cases in which the perpetrator's suicide was the only loss of life.

Two kinds of deaths may not have been counted as domestic homicides, the report states. A murder categorized as child abuse could have been used to exert power over the child's parent, and a same-sex intimate-partner homicide might have been misconstrued as violence between acquaintances or roommates.

Thirteen of the incidents during the 10 years occurred in Providence, followed by Pawtucket, 6, and East Providence, 5. Cumberland, North Providence, Warwick and Woonsocket each had 3; Central Falls, Cranston, Johnston, Narragansett and Portsmouth each had 2, and one each occurred in Warren and Middletown.

Violence escalates when a victim ends or tries to leave the relationship, the report stated, citing other studies' findings. Women are more likely to die if the abuser has tried to strangle her before, has faced domestic violence charges, has access to a firearm or abuses drugs or alcohol.

Stalking behaviors, such as showing up at a victim's workplace, tracking the victim with electronic devices, sending unwanted gifts or filing unwarranted motions for a chance to be in the same courtroom with the victim, add to a victim's feelings of hopelessness and are often not taken seriously by police.

The single best predictor of a future assault, multiple studies show, is if the victim perceives future danger. "When a victim does say that they think the perpetrator is going to try to kill them or their children, it is essential to listen to them and take action to protect them."

To see the report, which includes descriptions of each incident, visit ricadv.org.

The victims:

2006

Maria Sample, 44, Warwick

Elizabeth Orellana, 37, boyfriend Octavio Calcagno, 23, and daughter Kristal Duarte, 20, Central Falls

2007

Miledis Hilario, 40, Providence

Albert Dubois, 76, Warwick

Zulmira Medeiros, 79, Providence.

2008

Richard Gibson, 22, Pawtucket

Beatrice Langelier, 60, Cumberland

Mayra Cruz, 26, Pawtucket

Marian, 53, and James Soares, 60, Warren

John Capuano, 46, Narragansett

2009

Betsy Rodriguez, 22, Providence

Elio Olivero, 34, Providence

Melissa Perry, 32, Woonsocket

Rita Paiva, 57, Cumberland

Linda Encarnacao, 26, Providence

Ingrid Gonzalez, 34, Providence

George Holland, 29, Providence

Dayvelliz Cotto, 18, Providence

Jeannine Garcia, 32, Providence

2010

Annmarie Nardolillo, 44, Providence

Mindy Tartiff, 21, North Providence

Brooke Verdoia, 30, Pawtucket

Lisbeth Catalan, 22, Providence

Tracey Ann Pytka, 38, Cumberland

Staria Silva, 35, East Providence,

2011

Maria Almeida Turmel, 32, Pawtucket

Shirley Donnelly, 38, Cranston

Amber Arruda, 28, East Providence

2012

Stacie Dorego, 39, Johnston

Lucy Ponte, 54, East Providence

Michelle Busby, 50, East Providence

Natasha Marshall, 23, Pawtucket

2013

Terry Chiodo, 46, Portsmouth

Carla Bowen, 47, and boyfriend Christopher Butler, 52, Warwick

Allison Taylor, 65, Narragansett

Yeon, 61, and Young Yu, 60, North Providence

Evelyn Burgos, 40, and daughter Vanessa Perez, 25, Johnston

Catherine Salvi, 24, Narragansett

2014

Shelina Moreino, 41, Central Falls

Timothy Robillard, 45, Pawtucket

Pamela Donahue, 50, Providence

2015

Robin Dube, 48, North Providence

Christine Santurri, 42, East Providence

Yanira Flores, 28, Woonsocket

Arien Daly, 32, Providence

Rachael Kilroy, 34, Middletown

Yolanda McArdle, 42, Portsmouth


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