State of Vermont

Domestic
Violence
Fatality
Review
Commission
2017 Report
Vermont Attorney General's Office
http://www.ago.vermont.gov

Table of Contents
Background & Methods ...................................................................................................................1
Current Year Data (2016) ................................................................................................................3
Historical Data (1994 - 2016)........................................................................................................13
Domestic Violence & Suicide Prevention Resources ....................................................................16

This project was supported by grant number: 2014-WF-AX-0043, awarded by the Office
on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Points of view in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent
the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Background
On May 2, 2002, then-Governor Howard Dean signed into law H.728, which created Vermont's
Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission. The purpose of the Commission is to collect
data and conduct in-depth reviews of domestic violence-related fatalities in Vermont with the
goal of making policy recommendations to prevent future tragedies. There are now over forty
states that have active multi-disciplinary domestic violence fatality review teams across the
country. By examining data and information we hope to better understand why and how the
fatalities occurred and what can be done to prevent future deaths.

Methods
The Commission reviews all domestic violence-related homicides every year. The first step is to
gather information about all cases from the prior year which the Medical Examiner's Office has
ruled to be a homicide. The Commission then reviews all available information to determine if
any of the homicides were domestic violence-related. We also select one or two cases to review
in depth from closed cases from all previous years.
The Commission considers a homicide to be domestic violence-related if it involves family or
household members as defined by Vermont law. The Commission would also include homicides
in which (1) the responsible party killed a household member of an estranged intimate partner;
(2) the responsible party killed a current partner's estranged household member; (3) the
responsible party killed a family member's current or estranged household member; (4) the
responsible party killed a bystander while attempting to harm a family or household member. It
would also include a law enforcement-related death where the officer is forced to kill in the line
of duty when responding to a domestic violence incident or when a law enforcement officer is
killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence incident. It also includes
domestic violence-related deaths that are ruled justifiable homicide. It also includes fatalities
that result from a murder/suicide involving family or household members and suicides where
there is a documented history of domestic violence.
For cases that the Commission decides to review in depth, the case review process includes
creating a timeline for the case, identifying lethality factors, reviewing all available documents,
inviting witnesses to testify, taking testimony from witnesses before the Commission, and
discussing at length what can be learned from that case. The proceedings and records of the
Commission are confidential to protect the privacy of surviving family members. It is always
our intent to learn as much as possible from direct sources in every case. We attempt to speak
directly with police officers, social workers and others that were part of the systematic response,
as well as family members of the victim and the responsible party.
By statute, the commission is required to issue findings and recommendations on a biennial
basis. 15 VSA ?1140(g). In many past years, the Commission report included recommendations
annually. This year's report does not include recommendations. However, we did spend nearly
a year reviewing a case and taking testimony related to issues raised by it. We expect to have
recommendations from that case by next year. This year's report is focused on clarifying and

1

visually improving the way we report yearly and historical data. We welcome your comments
on the new format.
Thank you to all who shared their experience and perspective with us this year. We hope that we
can use this report and our recommendations as a starting point to improve our systemic response
to domestic violence and make further strides in our efforts to prevent domestic violence
fatalities.

2

Current Year Data--2016
Victim & Responsible Party Demographic Information, 2016
In 2016, there were 20 homicides and 124 suicides that occurred in the state of Vermont1. Of the
20 homicides, 6 were domestic violence (DV)-related. This amounts to 30% of homicides.
Victims ranged in age from 20 to 93. None of the victims of DV-related homicides had relief
from abuse orders in effect at the time and 100% occurred in the home.
Overall, two thirds of the victims of DV-related homicide were male and one third were female.
Gender of Victim
#
Male
4
Female
2
The gender breakdown of responsible parties (RP) was similar to the victim's gender breakdown.
However, in one instance, there were two responsible parties for one domestic violence
homicide. It is also important to note that one RP died by suicide.
Gender of RP
#
Male
4
Female
3
The majority of the RP-Victim relationships were current partners.
RP-Victim relationship
#
Current Partner
4
Family Member
1
Household Member
1
Half of DV-related homicides were committed using firearms.
Manner of Death
#
Firearm
3
Stabbing
1
Blunt Trauma
1
Neglect of Care
1
Two DV-related homicides occurred in Rutland and one occurred in each of the following
counties: Bennington, Orange, Orleans and Washington.

Police Response, 2016
In 2016, 79 Vermont police agencies responded to 3,491 incidents involving domestic violence.
Police response to an incident does not necessarily mean that there was an arrest made.2
1
2

Vermont Medical Examiner's Office, obtained Jan 2017
Data from Vermont Intelligence Center, obtained 5/17/17.

3

Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2016
In 2016, the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence had 19,816 calls to its
hotline service. Network agencies provided services to 9,376 individuals effected by domestic
and/or sexual violence.

Vermont Department For Children and Families, 2016

2,850

906

151

DV-Related
Intake Calls

Calls Accepted
for Child Safety
Intervention

Substantiated
Cases of Child
Maltreatment

The Statewide Incident Reporting Network (SIREN), 2016
SIREN is Vermont's pre-hospital
electronic documentation
database hosted by ImageTrend,
Inc. All Vermont licensed
ambulance agencies are required
to submit electronic patient care
reports within one business day
after responding to an incident.
In 2016, there were 92 incidents
in which Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) were activated
that were related to violence
between intimate partners.
85.5% of the victims were
female, 7.7% were male, and in
6.8% of SIREN incidents, both a
male and a female were injured.

SIREN Incident Disposition, 2016
Treated &
Released,
12.1%
NonEmergent/No
Treatment
Required,
13.2%

Transported
to ER, 57.1%

Refused
Care, 17.6%

14.1% of these cases involved strangulation, and an additional 14.1% involved self-harm or
attempted suicide by one of the involved parties.

4

Criminal Division Data, FY2016
Out of 3,336 total felonies filed in the Criminal Division of the Vermont District Court in FY
2016, 504 (15%) were domestic violence-related according to the Court Administrator's office.
Out of 12,376 total misdemeanor charges filed, 734 (6%) were DV-related.
The table below shows the total domestic violence-related felonies and misdemeanors for each
county as contrasted to total cases filed.

Criminal Charges Filed by County, Total and DV-related, FY2016
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

Total
Felony
101
332
165
807
36
277
22
76
95
151
343
317
295
339
3,356

DV-related
Felony
7 (6.9%)
58 (17.5%)
18 (10.9%)
94 (11.6%)
5 (13.9%)
61 (22.0%)
6 (27.3%)
14 (18.4%)
15 (15.8%)
31 (20.5%)
70 (20.4%)
33 (20.4%)
48 (16.3%)
44 (13.0%)
504 (15.0%)

Total
Misdemeanor
395
925
633
3,564
56
1,097
77
374
415
462
1,254
1,145
1,024
955
12,376

DV-related
Misdemeanor
28 (7.1%)
58 (6.3%)
27 (4.3%)
167 (4.7%)
9 (16.1%)
45 (4.1%)
4 (5.2%)
11 (2.9%)
28 (6.7%)
40 (8.7%)
99 (7.9%)
80 (7.0%)
74 (7.2%)
64 (6.7%)
734 (6.0%)

In tracking criminal dispositions, the Annual Statistical Report for the Vermont Judiciary does
not break down the data by offense type.3 Out of a total of 2,941 felonies disposed in FY2016,
the majority were by plea (2,157 or 73%). Most other cases were disposed by dismissal (683 or
23%). Jury and court trials make up 2% of the total felony dispositions (53 or 1.8% jury and 4 or
.1% court).
Trial numbers in Vermont are thus relatively small compared to plea agreements and dismissals.
The following table shows the total number of felony and misdemeanor trials in each county, but
the data is not specific to domestic violence.

3

That data is available from the Crime Research Group and is found further in this report.

5

Criminal Trials by County, Total, FY2016
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

Jury Trials
8
16
4
15
1
8
0
1
3
7
15
12
11
9
110

Court Trials
1
2
2
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
1
1
4
0
16

Total Trials
9
18
6
17
1
8
0
2
5
7
16
13
15
9
126

**trial data is total trials in the county for all felony and misdemeanors. The actual number of domestic
violence related trials is not available from the Vermont Judiciary Annual Statistical Report for FY16.

Criminal Charge Dispositions by County, DV Felonies, FY2016
The following data was supplied by the Crime Research Group. It is available by request from
their organization at http://www.crgvt.org. It includes all violations of 13 VSA ?1043.
Alternative dispositions refers to diversion or treatment courts; it does not included deferred
sentences. Deferred sentences are included in the guilty column. Acquitted refers to a finding of
"not guilty" either by judge at a court trial or by jury at a jury trial. Dismissed refers to cases
dismissed by the court with or without the prosecutor's agreement. Guilty refers to cases where
a plea agreement was reached and also includes cases in which the judge or jury found the
defendant guilty after trial. Nolle prosequi is a legal term that refers to dismissal by the
prosecutor which may or may not be coupled with a plea to another charge. Transfer refers to a
transfer to another court.

Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange

Alternative
Disposition
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

Acquitted

Dismissed

Guilty

0
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
1

6
19
9
36
4
26
1
5
4

Nolle
Prosequi
3
34
2
26
0
12
0
6
4

Transfer

Total

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

9
57
11
65
4
39
1
11
9

6

Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide
total:

0
0
0
0
0
1

5
0
1
4
0
14

0
3
2
0
0
9

22
25
13
12
13
195

6
15
12
31
20
171

0
0
0
0
0
0

33
43
28
47
33
390

Criminal Charge Dispositions by County, DV Misdemeanors, FY2016
The following information from the Crime Research Group shows all violations of 13 VSA
?1042. For information regarding the column headings, please refer to the felony charge chart
on the previous page.
Alternative Acquitted Dismissed Guilty
Nolle
Transfer Total
Disposition
Prosequi
Addison
0
1
0
15
8
0
24
Bennington
0
0
3
44
33
0
80
Caledonia
1
3
0
26
18
0
48
Chittenden
2
0
6
78
116
1
203
Essex
0
0
0
11
0
0
11
Franklin
0
1
0
32
32
0
65
Grand Isle
0
0
1
2
0
0
3
Lamoille
0
0
0
11
4
0
15
Orange
2
0
1
19
17
0
39
Orleans
0
0
3
29
16
0
48
Rutland
1
2
0
64
38
0
105
Washington
4
3
0
42
41
1
91
Windham
3
3
3
40
64
0
113
Windsor
0
5
0
40
43
0
88
Statewide
13
18
17
453
430
2
933
total:

Vermont Department of Corrections, 2016
As of December 30, 2016, there were 1,723 DV offenders in the Vermont Department of
Corrections system, 447 of whom were incarcerated. The remaining 1,276 were under
community supervision. Of those under community supervision, 753 were on probation, and 568
were on DV probation.

7

1,723
DV Offenders

477

1,276

Incarcerated

Community Supervision

Domestic Violence Accountability Programs, by County*, FY2016
Vermont currently has 12 Domestic Violence Accountability Programs (DVAPS). DVAPs are
community-based, group education programs that effectively hold low to medium risk domestic
violence offenders accountable for their behavior. Program participants may be court-ordered to
complete a program through the criminal court or through the juvenile court when referred by the
Department for Children and Families, or voluntarily enroll.
County
Participants Enrolled
Addison
21
Chittenden**
25
Orange
31
Orleans
30
Rutland
42
Washington
45
Windham
55
*There was no data for Bennington, Franklin, or Windsor counties for FY2016
**Chittenden county's program did not begin until December 2015

Family Division Court Data, Relief from Abuse Orders, FY2016
There were 3,809 total petitions for Relief from Abuse filed in the Family Division of Vermont
District Court in FY 2016. The Court Administrator's office has noted that this number has been
gradually declining for the past five years.4 It is not known how many of these petitions were
filed after hours.

4

Vermont Judiciary Annual Statistical Report for FY16 p.14.

8

Of the 3,386 petitions disposed in FY 2016, 2,500 temporary orders were granted (74%) and of
those, 1,150 resulted in final orders (46%). Of the total 3,386 disposed, 870 were denied a
temporary order.5
The 1,150 final orders were obtained in one of three ways: through a contested judgment (384 or
33%), through a consent judgment (436 or 38%) or through a default judgment (330 or 29%). In
1,350 cases, the temporary order was either dismissed (953 or 71%) or withdrawn (397 or 29%).
6

The following table breaks down the disposed petitions for Relief from Abuse by county:

Temporary and Final Relief from Abuse Orders by County, FY2016
County
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

Total RFAs Requested
188
281
177
558
32
311
48
130
151
187
529
322
252
220
3,386

TROs Granted*
140 (74%)
221 (79%)
102 (58%)
471 (84%)
31 (97%)
241 (77%)
29 (60%)
91 (70%)
116 (77%)
177 (95%)
370 (70%)
213 (66%)
144 (57%)
154 (70%)
2,500 (74%)

FROs Granted**
72 (51%)
102 (46%)
42 (41%)
202 (43%)
9 (29%)
105 (44%)
13 (45%)
45 (49%)
64 (55%)
57 (32%)
214 (58%)
69 (32%)
77 (51%)
79 (51%)
1,150 (46%)

Note - RFA: Relief from Abuse Order; TRO: Temporary Relief Order; FRO: Final Relief Order
*Percentage indicates percent of total RFAs resulting in a TRO for a given county
**Percentage indicates percent of all TROs resulting in an FRO for a given county
5

There are 16 cases in the 3,386 petitions are noted as change of venue or invalid/missing, thus the discrepancy in
the total when adding the 2,500 granted to the 870 denied petitions.
6
Contested Judgment: The judge decides the order after hearing testimony from both parties and any witnesses
provided by the parties.
Consent Judgment: Parties agree to an order without findings by the judge. The judge asks what the parties want
included in the order (for example, contact restrictions, exchange of children for parent/child contact)
and the judge issues an order of protection based on the agreement.
Default Judgment: Defendant did not appear for the hearing. The final order of protection is a public record since
the defendant had the opportunity for a hearing before the court and failed to appear. The judge issues the protection
order by default.
Dismissed by Court: After a contested hearing where both parties have an opportunity to enter testimony on the
record, judge does not find that there is enough evidence to issue a protection order. The temporary protection order
is vacated or expires, and no final order is issued. The case is dismissed by the court.
Withdrawn: Plaintiff withdraws their petition and case is closed. If the petition was not served on the defendant,
the case remains confidential. If the petition was served on the defendant with a temporary order of protection, the
holding station is contacted to withdraw the temporary order from their system. Only the temporary order is public,
not the complaint and affidavit since there was no opportunity for a hearing.

9

Criminal Court Data, Violations of Relief from Abuse Orders, FY2016
In Vermont, the State's Attorneys Office files violations of Relief from Abuse ("RFA") orders in
criminal court. The Family Division does have the authority to address violations of its orders
through civil or criminal contempt proceedings but as a practical matter this is not done. The
following data was supplied by the Crime Research Group. Felony RFA violations refers to
violations of 13 VSA ?1030(b). Misdemeanor RFA violations means a violation of 13 VSA
?1030(a). For explanations of each column heading, refer to the chart regarding felony criminal
dispositions (p. 7).

Felony RFA Violations by County, FY2016
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

Alternative
Disposition
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Acquitted

Dismissed

Guilty

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3

2
8
5
5
0
7
0
0
6
11
10
1
11
2
68

Nolle
Prosequi
0
3
6
8
0
6
0
0
2
1
8
0
5
3
42

Total

Nolle
Prosequi
6
20
10
49
1
26
2
5
15
4
25
13

Total

4
11
11
13
0
14
0
0
8
12
18
1
16
5
113

Misdemeanor RFA Violations by County, FY2016
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington

Alternative
Disposition
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

Acquitted

Dismissed

Guilty

1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
0

0
0
0
7
0
2
1
0
0
1
1
2

9
15
10
23
0
24
4
6
11
25
23
12

16
35
20
79
1
53
7
11
26
31
52
27

10

Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

0
1
2

0
0
5

0
0
14

17
13
192

36
15
227

53
29
440

Civil Division Protection Order Data, 2016
Orders of protection against sexual assault and stalking are available from the Civil Division of
the Vermont District Court. It represents a small percentage (8%) of the work this court does.
Most of the work in this court involves hearing major civil cases and small claims. There is no
after hours procedure to obtain these orders.
There were a total of 804 petitions for sexual assault or stalking protection orders filed in FY
2016. The majority were petitions for protection orders against stalking. The following chart
breaks down the orders filed for each type by county.

Sexual Assault/Stalking Protection Orders Filed by County, FY2016
County
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

Sexual Assault
2
1
4
11
0
4
0
2
4
1
2
0
5
3
39

Stalking
53
54
80
106
11
133
7
30
29
42
100
17
43
60
765

Total Orders
55
55
84
117
11
137
7
32
33
43
102
17
48
63
804

There were 811 total petitions disposed. Of those, 475 (58%) resulted in a temporary order and
333 (41%) were denied.
Of the 475 temporary orders granted, 209 (44%) resulted in a final order and 266 (56%) were
denied. The following chart breaks down by county the number of temporary orders granted of
the total requested and the number of final orders granted of the total requested.

11

Sexual Assault/Stalking Protection Orders, 2016 Dispositions
County
Addison
Bennington
Caledonia
Chittenden
Essex
Franklin
Grand Isle
Lamoille
Orange
Orleans
Rutland
Washington
Windham
Windsor
Statewide total:

TRO Requested
54
54
86
118
11
147
7
28
35
42
101
16
49
60
808***

TRO Granted*
33 (61%)
35 (65%)
49 (57%)
43 (36%)
11 (100%)
110 (75%)
3 (43%)
16 (57%)
27 (77%)
42 (100%)
45 (45%)
9 (56%)
17 (35%)
35 (58%)
475 (59%)

FRO Granted**
24 (73%)
20 (57%)
23 (47%)
19 (44%)
2 (18%)
41 (37%)
2 (67%)
10 (63%)
13 (48%)
7 (17%)
23 (51%)
3 (33%)
5 (29%)
17 (49%)
209 (44%)

Note - TRO: Temporary Relief Order; FRO: Final Relief Order
*Percentage indicates percent of all TROs requested resulting in a TRO granted for a given county
**Percentage indicates percent of all FROs requested resulting in an FRO granted for a given county
***808 statewide total TRO does not include 3 invalid/missing. There was a grand total of 811
dispositions as set forth in the text preceding the chart.

12

Historical Data--1994 to 2016
The historical data for total homicides in Vermont and total domestic violence homicides in
Vermont does not include any child victims whereas the 2016 current year data does include
children.
From 1994-2016, the total number of adult homicides that occurred in Vermont was 279, the total
number of adult domestic violence related homicides was 137. This amounts to 49% of homicides
over this time period.

Adult Homicides and DV-related Homicide
1994 - 2016

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1

2

Domestic Violence Related Homicides

While the gender of the victims is 50%
male and 50% female, the majority,
81% of responsible parties are male,
while only 19% were female.
Most (32%) of the domestic violencerelated homicides in Vermont have
involved a current intimate partner:

8

4 3
2

4

4

6

6

6

2016

4

8

2015

5

7

11

2014

7

9

12

2013

8

10

2012

7

10 10

13

11 11

2011

10

12

2010

13

2009

7

12

16

15

2008

8

11

16

15

2007

5

7 7

12

16

2006

13

20

2005

18

Total Homicides

Victim-RP Relationship, 1994-2016
Household
Member, 7%

Current
Intimate
Partner, 32%

Ex-Partner,
14%

Other ,
20%

Family
Member,
27%

13

The majority (58%) of Vermont's domestic violence-related homicides were committed with
firearms:

Causes of DV-related Homicide in Vermont
Motor Vehicle
Blunt Trauma & Strangulation
Neglect
Fire
Strangulation
Other
Stabbing
Blunt Trauma
Firearm

1%
1%
1%
1%
4%
5%
14%
16%
58%

Child Witnessing
From 1994-2016, there were 48 children who were either at the crime scene of a domestic
violence-related homicide when the incident occurred, or who were at the crime scene
immediately before or after the incident.

Abuse Prevention Orders
From 1994-2106, there were 18 victims of domestic violence-related homicide who had Relief
from Abuse orders in effect against the responsible person.

Officer Involved Shooting
From 1994-2016, there were 3 domestic violence-related homicide suspects who were killed by
law enforcement.

Suicides
From 1994-2016, there were 37 suicides known to be related to domestic violence. Historical
data around domestic violence-related suicide is limited, therefore this is likely an
underrepresentation of the true number.

14

DV-related Suicides, 1994-2016
Female,
10.8%

For the majority of domestic violencerelated suicides (78%), the method of suicide
was firearm.

Male,
89.2%

During this time frame, the Commission
knows of 29 RPs who died by suicide, and
an additional 4 RPs who attempted suicide.

Method of DV-related Suicide, 19942016
Stabbing,
2.7%

Asphyxia by
Fire, 2.7%

Jump/Fall,
2.7%

Hanging,
5.4%
Asphyxia
by Carbon
Monoxide,
8.1%
Firearm,
78.4%

15

If you or someone you know needs help...
Domestic Violence Resources
1. National Network to End Domestic Violence nnedv.org 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) TTY
1-800-787-3224
2. Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence vtnetwork.org
Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline: 1(800) 228-7395
Statewide Sexual Violence Hotline: 1(800) 489-7273
3. Deaf Vermonters Advocacy Service (DVAS) dvas.org
Hotline: (802) 661-4091
4. Pride Center Of Vermont Safespace Program- Support for LGBTQ survivors of
violence www.pridecentervt.org/programs/safespace
Support line hours: Monday through Thursday 9am - 6pm and Friday 9am - 2pm
Hotline: 1 (802) 863-0003
Toll-free 1 (866) 869-7341
Email: safespace@pridecentervt.org

Suicide Prevention Resources
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
Vermont Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (802) 273-8255
Dial 211: for a Counselor if you are in VT
Confidential online chat: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

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