Domestic violence killings on the rise in Ohio, new survey finds

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Domestic violence killings spiked over the past year in Ohio, with more child victims than any time in the last six years, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.

The Columbus-based advocacy group said 131 people died from domestic violence from July 2020 to June 2021. That total represents a 20% increase over the same timeframe from 2019-20, and a 62% increase over that timeframe in 2018-19.

Fifteen juveniles died from domestic violence, the most since the ODVN started tracking juvenile deaths six years ago.

Multiple people were killed in more than 30 cases. In three cases an abuser killed an entire family, including children, the survey found.

“Ohio’s domestic violence fatalities strike a resounding chord of tragedy in the hearts of Ohioans year after year,” Ohio Domestic Violence Network Policy Director Micaela Deming said in a statement. “But this year’s dramatic increase in the deaths of Ohio youth is truly shocking.”

The coronavirus pandemic caused a spike in domestic violence locally and nationally that shows no signs of slowing down, said Melissa Graves, the CEO of Journey Center for Safety and Healing. The advocacy group provides services to those at risk of domestic violence in Cleveland.

The pandemic left people more isolated, less likely to be able to leave an abuser and less able to access resources. Abusers also had more access to guns and more stressors, such as job loss.

Graves said her organization takes a survey of each person who calls its hotline for help to assess risk factors. Some of the questions help to identify escalating danger, such as if the person had been strangled, if their abuser lost a job or if there are guns in the home.

Prior to the pandemic, most of the center’s clients were at a high-risk. Now nearly all are at extreme risks of deadly violence, Graves said.

“It’s increasing and we’re seeing it continue to get worse,” Graves said. “There’s that compound effect of being isolated over time. we’ve seen the physical and psychological effects compound and become really dangerous. We’ve seen it continue to be a dangerous time for survivors. Over the last 18 months abuse continues to escalate in terms of frequency and severity.”

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network survey showed 23 people were killed from domestic abuse in Cuyahoga County, second only to Franklin County’s 24 deaths.

Several high-profile cases happened in Northeast Ohio during the surveyed period. They included a Shaker Heights man who killed his wife and two children; an Elyria man who killed his wife and three children; and a man who was shot to death at a St. Patrick’s Day party while searching for an ex-girlfriend he previously abused.

The statewide survey found 90 total cases of fatal domestic violence, with 86% involving someone who died by gunfire. The abuser died by suicide in 22 cases.

The abuser was male in 82 of the 90 cases, the survey found.

In at least 20 cases, abusers had previously been charged or convicted of domestic violence. In 27% of the cases, the victim had previously ended the relationship prior to the slaying.

The increase in domestic violence killings comes at a time when violence and homicides are increasing in Cleveland, its suburbs and throughout the country. In Cleveland, homicides jumped from 129 in 2019 to 191 in 2020.

So far this year, there have been 131 homicides, three less than at the same time last year. Of this year’s homicides, Cleveland police officials cited domestic violence as a cause in 13 cases, including most recently a former Cuyahoga County Jail officer who fatally shot his girlfriend, a current jail officer, before he took his own life during a SWAT standoff.