SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif-In one year close to 3-thousand woman are killed from domestic violence, and there are red flags to look out for in an abusive relationship that could save lives.
This past weekend police said a woman was nearly killed at home by her husband in Grover Beach. Police are still on the hunt for her husband, 44-year-old William Forgey.
In the national news is the murder-suicide involving the Kansas City Chief Linebacker Jovan Belcher. According to Kansas City Police, early Saturday morning officers were called to the home of Belcher, which he shared with his girlfriend Kassandra Perkins. Once on scene officers found Perkins shot, and unresponsive. Shortly after that, Belcher killed himself.
Divina Flores from Domestic Violence Solutions, based in Santa Maria said as more comes to light about the pro football player's relationship more red flags may be exposed. "The biggest one is where they are very controlling, always wanting to know where their partner is, always wanting to know who they are talking to, where they are going, what time they are going to be back, they may want them back at a certain time," said Divina Flores from Domestic Violence Solutions.
Flores also said this kind of abusive behavior is usually learned at a young age. "Most children that do grow up in that type of environment will end up being a victim of domestic violence or end up being the abuser," said Flores.
To end this cycle, Flores said the first step is to break the silence, domestic violence only grows stronger when victims don't speak up. "They will want to reach out to the community or even family members, its very important to have that support from family and to not be judged, but just to have that support," said Flores.
Four woman have lost their lives just this year in Santa Barbara County. Domestic Violence Solutions said this is a huge increase.
Hotline Numbers:
Santa Maria 805.925.2160
Lompoc 805.736.0965
Santa Barbara 805.964.5245
San Luis Obispo County 805.781.6400
