Domestic violence threats must be taken seriously

The details of a recent homicide in Milford are heartbreaking, but all too familiar. A woman pleaded for protection from a man who she believed was capable of violence. Before any help was offered, the woman’s fears were realized, and now the man is charged with her death.

Julie Minogue, of Milford, filed a complaint last month alleging that Ewen Dewitt, the father of her 3-year-old child, had sent her hundreds of harassing messages; an officer applied days later for an arrest warrant. Dewitt had already been facing charges related to a 2019 assault in which Minogue was the alleged victim.

He was not arrested over the latest complaint, and now he is charged with Minogue’s murder. Police say she was killed with an ax in her Milford condo while her 17-year-old son and her 3-year-old were in the home.

Minogue’s pleas for help are devastating in retrospect, and should have been at the time. “I don’t feel I should be subjected to this abuse any longer,” she wrote in her filing. “I am scared for the safety of my children and I. Ewen has got himself into a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol, and I’m scared he’s going to kill me.”

Especially considering his history of violence, those fears should have been more than enough to spur action for her protection.

The situation, however, is terrifyingly common. Someone, nearly always a man, issues threats against a woman, who is then forced to provide for her own protection because official response is lacking. It is never sufficient to say a threat is just words — there are far too many cases of those threats turning into deadly actions.

This case is somewhat complicated by the fact that there was no gun involved. Incidents like this frequently involve firearms, which has led advocates to push for so-called red-flag laws, which allow the seizure of deadly weapons from someone who is believed capable of deadly violence.

Those laws are important safety measures, and no doubt have saved lives. But they aren’t by themselves sufficient protection for people in danger, as the Milford case shows. There is no law that can remove every potentially lethal weapon from someone intent on causing harm.

There is no perfect solution, so what’s needed are multiple steps in a variety of fields. Better protection is one answer, and red flag laws are part of the equation. Getting help for people before they commit crimes is needed, but our mental health system is already overburdened and understaffed.

What needs to happen most of all, though, is people need to be taken seriously. When women say their lives are in danger, people with the power to protect them need to believe them. There are too many cases where victims are well aware of the danger they face and are doing everything in their power to get people to listen, but run into roadblocks at every turn.

That can’t happen. The danger is real, as we’ve seen far too often. Threats quickly move from words to violence. Everyone in a position to help needs to recognize that reality.

When women say their lives are in danger, people with the power to protect them need to believe them.