Two murder-suicides part of spike in deadly domestic violence cases

Commercial Appeal - 2/26/2017

Feb. 26--Two women killed by their husbands in separate murder-suicides several hours apart last Sunday left the community shocked by the back-to-back domestic violence slayings.

"We have through the years had episodes where men kill women and then themselves, but two in one day is not typical at all," said Deborah Clubb, executive director of the Memphis Area Women's Council.

At 3:41 a.m., officers responded to an apparent murder/suicide in the 1200 block of Thrushcross Cove, according to a statement from MPD.

Margaret Swearengen, 65, was found inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. Thomas Swearengen, her 57-year-old husband, was found with a single gunshot wound.

"She was a talented artist, painted probably half of the 901 rocks in the city, and loved leaving them for people to find," wrote Margaret Swearengen's niece Beth Watson on Facebook.

As investigators were working that incident, a second apparent murder-suicide was reported later that Sunday at an apartment in the 200 block of North Waldran and Poplar Avenue.

According to a news release from police, a suspicious person call came in at 6:25 p.m.. When the complainant went to check on the apartment, they found a man and woman dead. They were later identified as James Lea, 64, and his wife, Lisa Lea, 55.

Last year in Memphis, deadly domestic violence incidents claimed 26 victims, accounting for 11 percent of all homicides in the city.

Domestic violence killings have increased sharply from previous years, which included 13 in 2014 and just eight in 2015, according to data from the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission.

"Twenty-six is a huge number. It's a terrifying number," said Clubb with the Women's Council. "It's evidence that we still have an epidemic of this violence. People even in family situations, what's supposed to be a 'home is your sanctuary' ideal, we have instead vicious, vicious behavior going on."

Added Shelby County District Atty. Amy Weirich, "I used to say, the year before and the year before, our DV numbers were moving in the right direction. But this number just jumped off the page."

Some recent high-profile domestic violence homicides include:

September 2014: Tasha Freeman Thomas was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Charles Thomas, as she arrived at work at the University of Little Scholars Learning Center in Whitehaven. After a standoff with police, Charles Thomas shot and killed himself on the porch of the Whitehaven home he shared with Tasha and their two daughters.

September 2014: Torhonda Cathey was shot and killed by her former boyfriend, Ronald Ellis in the parking lot of an East Memphis Target store. Ellis, a former Memphis firefighter, was convicted in January and sentenced to life in prison.

November 2014: Keara Crowder was shot and killed by her wife, former Memphis police officer Jaselyn D. Grant at their Shelby County home. Grant was convicted earlier this month and will be sentenced March 10.

March 2015: Chatoya Hunter was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Rodriguez Hunter, as she arrived at her job at Kroger in Whitehaven. Rodriguez Hunter then shot himself and died later at the hospital.

September 2016: Willard Green was shot and killed by his wife at their job at Metro Materials, a concrete company in Southwest Memphis. The shooting was ruled justifiable and the woman was not charged.

Nationwide, there were an estimated 1,200 murder-suicide deaths in 2014, and 93 percent of the killers used a gun, according to the latest data available from the Washington-D.C.-based Violence Policy Center.

The studyfound that in 89 percent of the incidents, the offender was a male who acted alone and the victims were women in many of the murder-suicides.

Jordan Howard, director of communications and development with the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County, said she didn't know the details in the two recent murder-suicides, but in many domestic violence cases leaving is the most dangerous time.

The Family Safety Center works with victims to escape abusive relationships before the violence turns lethal.

"We emphasize safety planning because when you leave it is the most dangerous time," Howard said. "A lot of time people think, well now I'm leaving so I'm going to be safe, but that is not how it works. Understanding that abusers mindset is crucial and so for us we do safety planning here at the Family Safety Center."

Reach reporter Yolanda Jones at yolanda.jones@commercialappeal.com

Reporters Jody Callahan and Katie Fretland contributed to this story.

Help for domestic violence victims

Family Safety Center helps assess victims' immediate and long-term needs: 901-222-4400

YWCA operates a crisis hotline and a shelter: 901-725-4277

National Domestic Violence Hotline to talk to an advocate about domestic violence: 1-800-799-7233

Shelby County Crime Victims Center can help victims get orders of protection: 901-222-3950

Memphis Police Domestic Violence Unit will talk to victims about incidents of domestic violence: 901-636-3741

Memphis Area Legal Services can help victims get orders of protection: 901-523-8822

Domestic Violence Homicides:

2016: 26 victims

2015: 8 victims