Murder-suicide in Palm Beach County sheds light on the problem of domestic violence

A recent murder-suicide in Palm Beach County has brought the devastating effects of intimate partner violence into the spotlight.

Research shows there is a strong link between domestic violence and suicide, activists said. And with National Suicide Prevention Month in September and Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, they are drawing attention to what they called a “really misunderstood issue.”

“I think we as a society don't want to talk about it, and because of that, a lot of people don't understand how or when someone is suicidal,” says Rosie Johnson, director of local coordinated community response to domestic violence at Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, based in Delray Beach.

There is help available for people experiencing domestic violence or suicidal thoughts. Call the Palm Beach County Victim Services 24-hour hotline at 561-833-7273, the Domestic Violence Victims Support 24-hour hotline at 800-355-8547, or the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Support Hotline at 988.

On Sept. 2, a 62-year-old man killed his 60-year-old wife and then himself, according to Boca Raton police. The woman had previously called a family member, who heard a disturbance in the background when the woman said her husband wanted to kill her, police said.

When family members and other relatives arrived at the couple's home in Boca Raton, the couple was already dead, according to police.

This is one of the situations that organizations like the AVDA – which has been around for 40 years – seek to prevent by working with community organizations throughout Palm Beach County and South Florida to provide resources to victims of domestic violence, Johnson said.

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“Our mission is to provide life-saving services while promoting nonviolent and egalitarian relationships to bring about the social change needed to end domestic violence and intimate partner violence,” she said.

The organization has a hotline that can be called or texted: 800-355-8547, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The group also runs an emergency shelter and a two-year transitional housing program to help victims of domestic violence rebuild, Johnson said.

Additional services include outreach counseling and psychological support.

As the coordinator of the Coordinated Community Response Team in Palm Beach County, Johnson reviews services provided throughout Palm Beach County to find gaps, including being part of a team that reviews domestic violence-related deaths.

“That's where we see a lot of these murders and suicides, and the physical toll is increasing,” Johnson said.

She cited a 2023 study by the Violence Policy Center that found that in cases where one partner killed the other and then immediately committed suicide, 91% of the killers were male and 69% of the fatalities were female. That study looked at a six-month period from January 1, 2001, to June 30, 2001, and found that of the five states that had 10 or more murder-suicides during that period, Florida had the most: 28.

According to this study, 90% of the 258 murder-suicide incidents involved firearms.

In many cases, children were affected: 14 percent of murder victims were younger than 18, and 66 percent of survivors who witnessed the incident – whether murder, suicide or both – were younger than 18, the study found.

Of the total number of murder-suicides, 200 or 78 percent occurred at home, according to the study.

Domestic violence has a drastic impact on children, Johnson said. They leave their homes and, if possible, live with grandparents or distant relatives.

“The children obviously have a lot of emotional problems,” she said. “Many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, a lot of anxiety and depression.”

The impact ripples through family members who are suddenly tasked with caring for the child or children while grieving. It can also be an added financial burden, and often grandparents are physically unable to care for the children, she said.

“It will be very difficult for families,” Johnson said.

There could also be lengthy custody disputes in which the murderer's family and the victim's family fight directly with each other for custody of their children, she said.

“There will be a lot of back and forth on this that will be difficult to manage,” Johnson said.

Although the situation is heartbreaking, Johnson said she has noticed that the families of people who have died by murder and suicide are often active in raising awareness about domestic violence.

“Culturally, we as a society tend to downplay domestic violence,” she said. “We tend not to believe the survivors.”

She said some news articles also seemed to downplay the problem by using indirect language to describe the crime and then failing to explain the extent to which it involved domestic violence or intimate partner violence.

For those seeking help with organizing, AVDA makes the intake process easy, Johnson said.

“We know that when survivors come to us, they are overwhelmed, exhausted and upset. And more often, they just want to eat something and go to sleep or try to calm their children down,” she said.

The team focuses on daily interactions with survivors to help them move on, while also checking in on what they need and how they are doing, Johnson said.

There are certain signs of possible suicidal thoughts that AVDA team members should look for, she said. These may include statements such as “I don't want to be here anymore.” In some cases, a person may have suicidal plans.

AVDA works closely with the South County Mental Health Center's mobile crisis intervention team of the National Alliance of Mental Illness' Palm Beach County chapter and other organizations, Johnson said.

“They're really good at coming in and doing a comprehensive assessment if the patient is thinking about it, but they may not have a comprehensive plan. They then provide crisis support on the spot and put the patient in touch with additional mental health counselors,” she said.

People who require voluntary or involuntary institutional treatment because of the state's Baker Act will continue to work with AVDA and will not lose their place in the organization's homeless shelter or transitional housing during the duration of that care, Johnson said.

“We keep their beds free so they have a safe place to go once their condition is stabilized and they are discharged. And then we continue to provide them with support,” she said, noting that this support includes referring them to mental health counselors, making sure they take their medications and providing them with money to pay for the medications.

The domestic violence support organization has a 62-bed emergency shelter and transitional housing for eight families. All of those facilities are normally full, Johnson said.

“It's both good and bad,” she said. “I'm glad people know about it and can call. And if we have space, we'll bring them in.”

The root of domestic violence is a need for power and control, Johnson said.

“It is the individual's perception that they should be in control of the situation,” she said. This need for control may result from a person's upbringing, the social messages they have received or other cultural factors, she added.

Murder and suicide usually occur when the perpetrator loses control, Johnson says. “That can happen when the victim is thinking about continuing, or even after they've continued,” she says.

Warning signs that someone is experiencing domestic violence include isolation, increased drug use to numb the trauma or suicidal thoughts, Johnson said.

It is important for victims of domestic violence to continue receiving long-term psychiatric care, she said.

In her role on the Coordinated Community Response Team, Johnson has spent months mapping the domestic violence response system and providing resources and assistance to survivors in Palm Beach County.

This knowledge has been shared with law enforcement and resource providers so they have a better and more comprehensive view of the process survivors will go through and are better prepared for what can be a lengthy legal process, she said.

In addition to the South County Mobile Response Team, AVDA also coordinates with organizations such as the YWCA and its Mary Rubloff Harmony House, an emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence; Palm Beach County Victims Services; The Lord's Place; and the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County.

Murder-suicide in Palm Beach County sheds light on the problem of domestic violence

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