Report shows shocking number of domestic violence homicides in Oklahoma

By Jason Burger

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A report released Thursday from the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board shows the state averaged 115 domestic violence homicide victims annually from 2019 to 2023.

Board members said legislators should take action to strengthen victim protective orders in the state.

“Recently, in the face of the clearly rising numbers of domestic violence homicides in Oklahoma, they’re not getting better over time,” said Brandon Pasley, the vice president of operations for YWCA Oklahoma City.

Data in the board’s report showed Oklahoma had 122 domestic violence homicides in 2023. Pasley is on that board.

“In terms of women killed by men in single victim, single offender homicides, Oklahoma is still second in the nation,” he said.

The number of victims killed in domestic violence-related murder-suicides was also the highest ever in 2023, with 30 reported.

The board released a set of new recommendations based on that data. The first one says, “establishing a fund for a statewide program focused on providing direct trauma-informed services to children, adolescents and their caregivers who have been impacted by family violence-related homicide and near-fatal intimate partner violence.”

Others include:

Enacting a domestic violence-specific hearsay exception to bolster evidence-based prosecution. Strengthening areas of state Victim Protection Order laws. Amending state statutes to eliminate discrepancies related to domestic violence crimes. “Over the years, the board has seen so many children where they are left as survivors after domestic violence homicides, where one or both of their parents have been murdered, and we haven’t always gotten a clear indication of what services were offered, or available to them,” Pasley said.

There were bi-partisan concerns about the report at the Oklahoma state Capitol on Thursday. Senate Pro Temp Lonnie Paxton immediately recalled the case of Jordan Pyle, the former Cleveland County deputy.

“One that jumped out when you asked that question, is the Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputy who was killed by her husband, who was also a Cleveland County deputy,” Paxton said.

State Sen. Julia Kirt said there are many factors to consider with these cases.

“In domestic violence people can’t always report immediately, they may not be safe to report. Their kids may not be safe. So, I think we have to recognize the unusual and dangerous nature of domestic violence,” Kirt said.

The fatality review board also recommended a legislature allocation of $850,000 to fund a program that will support children exposed to family violence-related homicides.

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