Local agency concerned with repeat instances of domestic violence leading to homicides

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - One local agency dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence in Western New York is raising the red flag over a rise in incidents, especially among repeat offenders. Two such instances have recently resulted in homicides in Erie County.

The first incident occurred two weeks ago when 49-year-old Rickey Crouch, who had a past history of violence, was accused of murdering 44-year-old Amanda Thompson at her home on South Ogden Street in Buffalo. Crouch not only had served a prior prison sentence for murder, but he also was involved in a domestic relationship with Thompson, and had a history of multiple arrests involving Thompson.

Then just this past Tuesday, 37-year-old Daniel Negron of Buffalo was accused of murdering a 27-year-old woman, who was found at a motel on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst. As for Negron, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison back in 2009 after pleading guilty to trying to kill a former girlfriend with a machete, hammer and scissors in October 2008.

While the amount of cases that the Family Justice Center of Erie County has seen is very troubling, what concerns Kelly Gast, Community Outreach Manager, the most is the dramatic rise in the types of cases they are seeing.

"When the Family Justice Center first opened its forensic medical unit, for example, it was to document severe injuries like broken ribs and black eyes, and you would think that would be bad enough. Now we're dealing with strangulations, stabbings, and shootings or threats of shooting almost daily, and the stories that we're hearing are also illustrative of those instances that can easily lead to homicide. So obviously we are gravely concerned," said Gast in an interview with WBEN.

The trend of repeat offenders committing heinous acts of violence against another individual they may have a domestic relationship with is, particularly, concerning for Gast and her team at the Family Justice Center.

"Our advocates do danger assessments, and those assessments provide a score that help us determine the level of danger a victim may be in, and the risk of homicide. Sadly, many of the cases that we're seeing, they're landing in this 'severe' to 'extreme risk' for lethality, and we're really witnessing this play out firsthand," Gast explained. "Overall, our caseload tends to still be around 1,500-to-2,000 cases per-year. However, right now, our daily numbers are rising, and have certainly gone up in the last 30-to-40 days. So our first client of the day, we assign the letter A, and it goes up the alphabet from there. There are often days where we're making it to the letter M, other days have exceeded that. As a result, we actually have a waiting time, because all of our client living rooms are in full use."

One such act that Gast is attempting to raise more awareness of in domestic violence cases is a rise in strangulation among offenders.

"Strangulation, in combination with easy access to a firearm, is a danger zone. Not just for the victim, but for our entire community," Gast warned. "Mass murders and attacks on police are rooted in domestic violence. Stranglers are often the culprits. It's important to distinguish just an average abuser from a strangler. These are very different people, and there is a direct connection - there's a lot of data on this, actually. We're concerned for our entire community, because these are people who have proved by suffocating someone that they are willing to kill."

What makes strangulations, or reports of strangulation such a key emphasis for Gast and her team is because they often get plead down to a misdemeanor, otherwise known as Obstruction of Breathing, a perpetrator is let go, and their victim is then 750 times more likely to be killed by that same partner.

"And now we have an angry abuser on the loose who is capable of following through with threats, not only on the victim but to the public. So unfortunately, now we are grieving alongside two families," Gast added. "But we should certainly be doing all that we can to prevent another attack, like the 5/14 massacre that happened right here in Buffalo as well."

Gast knows that the Family Justice Center, as the largest domestic violence agency on the frontlines, cannot do the work of helping victims alone. She says this requires a community response.

"We need to not just assume the root cause, but learn it and act on it immediately. Why are these cases escalating? Why are we seeing what we're seeing? Why are people being let out after numerous charges? We need a combined effort, and we need to expedite it," she said. "There's really a shared responsibility here. Everybody is affected by domestic violence. We don't know who is next, but we certainly need the assurance that when the system takes over, victims are, and will be protected, and that there will be accountability for the perpetrator. So quite frankly, this is going to take much better coordination. We can provide resources and some safety and support, but we are just one piece, and we really can't bear this burden alone."

As for those who feel they are the victim of domestic violence, Gast urges people to understand when the right time is to get help, and know the precautions they can take for themselves.

"It's really important for people to realize that they are not alone, and also to go it alone can really put them in even more danger, and more at risk. As hard as it is - we know how hard it is, and we are a staff that includes survivors - the survivors need to take the precautions and follow through the safety plan that is given by their advocate," Gast noted. "Our advocates are experts in this, and they are experts for a reason. For example, following through on completing a family offense petition so that can actually be filed to obtain an order of protection. Following through with the steps given is really what separates a victim from a survivor.

"We want people to come to us before things escalate to the severe level of danger that we're currently seeing. Get help before it's too late."

For help or any other questions, you can call the Family Justice Center's SafeLine at (716)-558-SAFE (7233).