Domestic Violence Headlines for the Week of Oct. 20

Actress Kirsten Bell’s Instagram Post Pokes Fun at Intimate Partner Homicide

This past Saturday, actress Kirsten Bell, known for her role in TV series such as The Good Place and Veronica Mars, as well as voicing Anna in the Frozen movies, posted an ode to husband Dax Shepard on her Instagram page. “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.’” Following it was a heart emoji. 

It's an interesting choice, especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to make light of the fact that Bell isn’t one of the tens of thousands of femicide victims worldwide each year. According to findings by the United Nations, at least 140 women and girls are murdered each day at the hands of a partner or close relative. 

The comments beneath Bell’s post varied widely, with many expressing shock the actress would be so tone deaf as to post something like that, while other celebrities, such as actress Mary Steenburgen, the wife of Ted Danson, Bell’s former co-star on The Good Place, wrote, “Oh man. We are laughing so hard!!!”

The Dateline NBC account commented, simply, “Screenshotted.”

Perhaps not shockingly, a 2017 study found that men who believe they need to prove their masculinity were more likely to find humor in jokes that are disparaging to women or gay individuals. One of the study’s researchers, Emma O’Connor, says humor is often considered “a socially acceptable vehicle of expressing discrimination.” 

Source: Instagram.com

Denise Richards’ Ex-Husband Faces Felony Domestic Abuse Counts

Actress Denise Richards’ ex-husband, Aaron Phypers, was already in court for a restraining order hearing last Friday when he was arrested on a felony warrant for domestic abuse. Phypers, 53, was charged with two counts of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent; and two counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat. All of the incidents took place in early 2022. 

Phypers was booked into jail that evening and released later that day on a $200,000 bond. 

Richards, 54, has alleged that her ex-husband of six years was repeatedly physically abusive, slamming her head into a concrete wall, picking her up by her head and squeezing it during an argument and threatening to kill her multiple times by throwing her through windows and off balconies of hotels. She claims she has suffered multiple concussions as a result of Phyper’s abuse. 

Phypers has denied Richards’ claims. “I never physically harmed Denise Richards….I did not threaten to kill anybody,” he stated.

Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, which can arise from multiple concussions, in domestic violence survivors are more common than many may think. Findings from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network’s Center on Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury showed 81 percent of women who’d been abused by a partner and sought help suffered a head injury. The effects of brain injuries are cumulative, meaning symptoms worsen each time. This can result in both physical and mental challenges such as memory issues, difficulty concentrating, problems with balance, sensitivity to noise and light, impulsivity and difficulty controlling emotions. 

This is the second public marriage to an abusive partner that Richards has had to endure. Her previous marriage to actor Charlie Sheen from 2002 to 2006 resulted in claims of physical abuse by Sheen, including his threat that he was going to have her killed. 

Source: People.com

Teen To Be Charged as Adult for Murdering Girlfriend 

Devastating news out of Ogden, Utah over the weekend as a 16-year-old boy shot and killed his 15-year-old girlfriend. Hezekiah Plummer, 16, will be tried as an adult for charges of first-degree murder, as well as additional counts of obstruction of justice and theft of a firearm for the murder of Chanelle Alvarez at her home. The autopsy revealed that Alvarez died by a single gunshot wound at close range to her head. 

A witness at the home called 911 around 3 a.m. Sunday morning after hearing a gunshot and seeing Plummer with a gun in his hand. The teen then fled the home. The gun used is suspected to have been stored in Alvarez’s room as it was found to be missing after the shooting. Authorities were able to track down Plummer later that day in a nearby county. He is now being held without bail. It should be noted that the presence of a gun where intimate partner abuse is present increases a woman or girl’s risk of homicide by 500 percent. 

Pastor Jeff Stephenson of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where Chanelle had attended summer camp programs over the past few years, described Alvarez’s murder as “absolutely devastating” and “something that no family should ever have to endure.” 

He also said, “cases like this are rare,” a statement that is unfortunately false. The second-most common age range at risk for abusers to target is girls between 11 and 17, with the highest risk group women ages 18 to 24. Adults are strongly encouraged to talk to teens early and often about the red flags of dating abuse. Learn more at “Teaching Teens About Dating Violence.”

A GoFundMe started to help cover funeral expenses for Alvarez made it clear that domestic violence was the cause of the young girl’s death. “As we grieve this unimaginable loss, we want to be clear that Chanelle’s passing is the result of domestic violence—something no child, no family, should ever have to endure. It’s a pain that cuts deep, and our hope is that her story helps bring awareness and protection to others,” the page states.

Sources: KSL.com and KJZZ.com

Nevada Man Shows Up Drunk to Pick-Up 3-Year-Old, Shoves Mom, Drives Away with Child 

A Carson, Nev., man attacked the mother of his child on Monday before taking their three-year-old and driving away, drunk, before police apprehended him. Jose Bustos Lopez, 24, allegedly broke into the home of his ex-partner, though he claimed they had arranged for him to pick up his child. The woman says she knew Lopez was intoxicated and tried to leave the house with their child when Lopez pushed her, causing her to fall into a crib and hurt her arm. He then grabbed their child and left, and the woman called 911. 

When deputies found Lopez at a gas station, they reported he was “immediately uncooperative,” that he smelled like alcohol and both empty and unopened beer bottles were in his truck. They also found the child in the backseat of the truck “crying and visibly scared.”

Lopez was charged with DUI, domestic battery, child abuse and obstruction and his bail was set at $44,686. 

Domestic violence cannot be blamed on alcohol, agree experts, as most abusers will show that getting sober will not end their controlling behaviors. However, alcohol can escalate already abusive individuals' tactics of power, control and violence, which can be especially dangerous when child custody is involved. 

One company, SCRAM Systems, offers ankle monitors that test the wearer’s alcohol consumption every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, by reading the perpetrator’s perspiration, and is recommended for cases in child custody where one parent has a known history of alcohol abuse. 

Source: carsonnow.org