Research shows a clear connection between domestic violence and child abuse. In this past month, there have been two murders that were directly due to domestic violence. In both of these murders, children were present in the home.
Joseph Davis was recently charged with second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing Christine Morris, the mother of his child. Police responded to the house and found the couple’s two-year-old child on the couch in the living room; the child’s mother was dead upstairs.
Last week, Jason Filas was charged with second-degree murder for the alleged stabbing of Danielle Warren. A Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO) had been in effect for two weeks; a physical struggle before the alleged killing was reported in the Star Tribune. Their two children, ages 5 and 9 months, were in the home during the alleged killing.
In our most recent Child Fatality Report, published January 2024, 52% of the child fatalities we reported on had domestic violence play a role in the death. This was coupled with high noncompliance with DANCOs.
Violence against domestic partners and violence against children go hand in hand. We must do more to stop domestic killings and protect children from all types of violence in the home.