EBR District Attorney Reports

14 domestic violence-related homicides in 2017.

BATON ROUGE, La. (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) - Fourteen people died in domestic violence-related homicides last year in East Baton Rouge Parish, twice the number from 2016, according to District Attorney Hillar Moore.

Delivering his second-annual report on domestic violence Thursday, Moore said the number of those killed by domestic violence jumped by two last year, compared to 2016. One incident occurred on New Year's Day 2017, with another on New Year's Eve.

"2017 began and ended with a domestic violence homicide," he said. "Domestic violence, if left unchecked, will often escalate to murder."

Killings tied to domestic violence represented 19 percent of the record 104 homicides in East Baton Rouge Parish last year. Of those, 12 offenders were men, while two were women; 10 involved a gun, three involved a knife, and one involved arson.

Without intervention, the actions of domestic violence offenders often accelerate, Moore said. Roughly 10 of the 14 homicides last year involved those previously reported for domestic violence.

"It is my hope that by focusing on these 14 cases -- and by bringing attention to the research of these warning signs -- friends, family members and co-workers of current and future victims will encourage them to seek assistance before there is another domestic or dating homicide," Moore said.

The district attorney said his office typically handles 3,000 domestic violence cases a year, though the caseload had fallen in 2016 to 1,800.

Domestic Violence Statistics

• According to the FBI, a woman is battered every 15 seconds.

• Louisiana ranks 2nd in the nation for homicides related to domestic abuse.

• 2-4 million American women are abused each year.

• White, Black, Hispanic & Non-Hispanic women have equivalent rates of violence committed by intimate partners.

• Nearly 1/2 of men who abuse their female partners, also abuse their children.

• Up to 50% of homeless women and children in this country are fleeing domestic violence.

• Studies show that women face the greatest risk of assault when they leave or threaten to leave their partners, or report the abuse to authorities.

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