SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Officers and women’s advocates say they are seeing an alarming trend of increased violence toward women.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s office received about 8,000 calls last year because of domestic violence. Not all of those resulted in the need for medical care, or charges filed, but a growing number do.
Officers believe the struggling economy is causing extra stress in the home, and they say domestic violence is a cycle. It begins with a stress phase that precedes a battering phase. They say anything that stimulates tension will increase the severity and frequency of abuse.
September 24 officers found Heather Vangrimbergen in the driveway of her Tooele home, shot multiple times. Her eleven year old daughter witnessed the shooting and her husband was arrested.
September 30 a woman says she escaped after being abused and held hostage with her son. Her husband was arrested.
Friday morning Lisa Olivera was found stabbed to death. Her husband was arrested for the crime. Their two children were home at the time. Victim’s advocates say domestic violence is getting more violent.
"We have five domestic violence programs at the justice courts in the area that we serve and all of them have seen an increase in the severity of the cases,” says Crime Victim Advocate Claudia McDonald.
In many cases, children witness the suffering.
"We've seen an increase in children present in domestic violence cases and they are the ones being the silent victims because they don't always have a voice,” McDonald says.
The Utah legislature tried to increase penalties against those who commit crimes in front of children.
"We are talking about people who are beating other people senseless and so i don't think that's a huge discouragement in those circumstances,” Mcdonald says.
Mcdonald says it is important for victims to get out before abuse escalates.
"Seek a support system from family and community members and reach out as soon as they start to see any kind of red flags or warning signs,” McDonald says.
For those who would do harm, officers say take a step back.
"A lot of circumstances can be avoided if at your first thoughts of violence you leave the situation," Salt Lake County Sheriff Don Hutson says.
There are numerous resources in Utah for women who find themselves in a violent situation. To find more information, visit the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office
here or call the Domestic Violence Crisis Line at 1-800-897-5465.
