Six people died in Tarrant County in three days. Saturday, a suspect shot three in Arlington. Monday, three more people died from gunshot wounds in a Fort Worth murder-suicide. Both cases were domestic disputes that got out of hand.
"That batterers are willing to take it to such a high degree, to such a far degree. I think, even I'm a little surprised by that," said Mary Lee Hafley, CEO of SafeHaven of Tarrant County.
Hafley says the recent crimes show the current system isn't working.
"I don't think these things would be happening if we were doing it right," she said.
Hafley's main concern is education, for officials and victims.
Aida Mitchell was with her, now ex-husband, for 7 years. It wasn't until they got married that she realized he was an abuser.
Even then, she didn't seek help hoping he would change.
"Emotionally, you are attached to that person. So, you're going to see him with good eyes, and you're going to see that he's going to change. The reality is. if he doesn't get help, change isn't' going to happen," said Mitchell.
The biggest indicator of domestic violence is a controlling partner.
"So, you're telling the person what they can and can't do. Everything that's wrong is the victim's fault," said Hafley.
Once the victim becomes dependent, it's harder to leave.
"It's really about controlling another person with fear and intimidation. That often results in physical assault, but it usually begins through mental and emotional abuse," said Hafley.
"It (the abuse) just became worse and worse as time progressed. He didn't actually care at that time, where he crashed my car, drug me by the parking lot. I was bleeding all over. I said, 'you know what? enough is enough.' I was fearing for my life at that time," said Mitchell, of when she decided to call for help.
She admits, she should have called earlier. That's why she decided to tell her story, in the hopes other women going through the same thing will seek help before it's too late.
