Women's murders rise in city on U.S.-Mexico border
Thursday, December 01, 2005 2:46 p.m. ET
By Tim Gaynor
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - The number of women murdered in this notorious city on the U.S. border has surged this year, despite a government effort to crack down on crime, prosecutors said on Thursday.
More than 340 women have been strangled, beaten and stabbed to death in Ciudad Juarez, south of El Paso, Texas, in a 12-year killing spree that has provoked outrage in Mexico and abroad and led to calls for decisive government action to end the crimes.
Chihuahua state prosecutors said 30 women and young girls were murdered in the industrial city from January 1 to November 30, compared with 19 murders in all of 2004, when Mexican President Vicente Fox created a special prosecutor's office to probe the crimes.
Some killings have been particularly gruesome. A 2-month-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered last month.
Rights groups in the past criticized authorities' handling of the investigations, saying they were marred by inefficiency and corruption.
But prosecutors said they had charged suspects in 80 percent of the murders committed this year and could not be blamed for the sharp increase.
"Our job is not crime prevention. ... While the murder rate has regrettably risen (in recent months), this year has been the most effective to date for prosecutors," said Claudia Cony Velarde, assistant attorney general in Juarez.
Various motives have been put forward over the years to account for the murders, around a third of which involved rape or sexual assault, but none has been widely accepted.
Some theories blame serial killers and rogue drug cartels, but Velarde said about 80 percent of the recent murders fit a pattern of "domestic or intrafamily violence."
"There isn't a serial killer loose on the streets. The majority of the crimes were committed by someone from within the victim's own household," she said.
One group working with victims' families broadly agreed with Velarde's analysis, although they still hold serious concerns about the way authorities have handled cases.
"The federal, state and city authorities do need to work closely together to end impunity and solve the crimes, but a real prevention campaign is needed in order to eradicate gender violence," said Victoria Caraveo, who represents the families of about 30 murder victims from the city.
"It's not enough just to advise women not to walk in dark alleys or to tell them to keep their parents informed of their movements. The causes run much deeper than that," she said.
Many victims were poor working mothers employed in factories in the industrial city of 1.3 million people.
Lynn, I have a question for you if you don't mind? Looking at the Butts Triple Homicide in Atlanta back in 1992 do you have any feelings on these murders? Could it have been a domestic violence situation. Even though one was strangled by hands , one strangled by a phone cord , and sexually assualted , and the baby drown ? Just you opinion. I feel that is the case in this triple homicide.
Since joining some of the forums, I have done a lot of reading on the Butts case in order to figure out what everyone else was talking about. When I got into the "meat" of the crime, my first thought was, "Uh-oh...this sounds like a domestic violence case." I have no proof, of course, but I've been working in the field of inter-personal violence since 1983. Don't get me wrong...I don't see domestic violence in everything, but I do have a sense for recognizing it. And this case smacks of DV to me. The nature of the crimes (strangulation & drowning) is very personal. Someone who breaks into a home to rob it, or someone shows up because they think there might be drugs in the home, probably would choose a less personal method for killing Gerri and the girls (such as shooting or bludgeoning ). But more likely, those kind of criminals are more apt to run, when their plans are foiled. I believe whoever killed the Butts family was someone known well by them. It takes a lot to strangle someone to death. And it takes a while too. Gerri and the older child likely put up quite a fight, so it may have taken even longer to kill them. Can you imagine looking into their eyes as they were being strangled? The killer had to be in a rage...and rage is personal.
As for predictors for domestic violence. ..there are many. I don't know much about Kevin Hailey's personality, but I would like to know if he ever was violent with Gerri before the murder. If he had been abusive at any point in the past, the violence between them is likely to have increased in frequency and intensity. We know he is a violent guy, as evidenced by his recent conviction. Was he violent with women in the past? Has he been violent with his mother?
Most batterers are the most charming people you'd ever want to meet. While drugs and/or alcohol do not cause DV, they do lower the inhibitions to be violent, and frequently abusers use drugs. There are several kinds of batterers. One is the rage batterer. They experience a period in which they are getting ready to blow...tension is building. Usually their girlfriends or wives know the signs of impending violence and do everything they can to avoid it. But it eventually happens, and afterwards, the batterer is usually sorry...until the next time. They may have a history of cruelty to animals. Some view the law as a joke and may have a history of petty crimes. But the biggest indication is that abusers are very controlling...even to the smallest details. One study found that unemployment is the single greatest predictor of DV.
I am not surprised that Kevin denies that he and Gerri were boyfriend/girlfriend. He knows he would be a prime suspect if he admitted that they were. After a serious incident (and murder certainly is a serious incident), the abuser seeks to disavow any connection with the victim.
I don't know if this helps any. Like I said, I would like more information about Kevin's personality in general. I believe that whoever killed Gerri had to kill the girls too because they knew him and could identify him. I think that the chance that a stranger committed this crime is zero.
Lynn, Thank you very much for your input . I don't know if you would call throwing a sweet little fuzzy white puppy at a sign. But this is one event that one of Kevin's friends told me about happening while driving down the road. The other gentleman was going to take the puppy home to his kids and was shocked and disqusted with the fact that Kevin hit a sign with the puppy. His ex-wife claims he was not violent , but we also know that he tore the house apart during a fit he was throwing , I also have a statement from police in Longview that he was violent with yet another woman. I guess I could find that statement to the police and the charges against him and post that.
Did I understand you that Kevin has been arrested for domestic violence in the past? I'd definitely consider throwing a puppy at a sign cruelty to animals. We know that Kevin fought with his brother, stole from him and his mother, destroyed property, used drugs, was involved in other violent crimes, and he was unemployed. All those are predictors of domestic violence. If Gerri and Kevin were fighting because she confronted him about sleeping with her friend, after Gerri was unconscious, he turned to Jessica. He was already in a rage because of the confrontation with Gerri, so raping Jessica could have been an act of defiance..."No one's going to tell me who I can have sex with..." But I still believe that the rape was an act of opportunity for the killer. Sometimes, it's a thin line between arrousal and rage. Of course, this is all supposition, but it would not surprise me if there is a ring of truth in this supposition. Kevin has shown a pattern of behavior, and that should be consideration in the investigation.
If Kevin threw his girlfriend down and kicked her at a party, in front of others, what do you think he was capable of doing in private? Perhaps strangle someone? Or two someone's? Maybe he didn't go to Gerri's to kill her, but things got out of control, and he ended up killing Gerri. Then, in a panic, he had to silence the girls because they knew him and would tell. He probably thought he had no other choice and so justified "what he had to do." It's the same old story..."If Gerri hadn't made me mad..."
If Gerri said, "He really loses it," she knew what he was capable of doing. Lots of battered women thing they can control the situation, when it gets out of hand, because they know the abuser so well and can predict his behavior.
