Dallas has made fighting domestic violence a top priority for years, and on Tuesday city leaders heard about progress.
New laws have brought the number of cases down slightly, but a murder in a downtown high-rise two weeks ago shows that challenges remain.
Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, the building at 1401 Elm Street is now called The National, a nod to its heritage as the former First National Bank building. The recently renovated building houses a luxurious restaurant, a luxury hotel, and luxury apartments.
On September 25th, 46-year-old Jeanine Chapman was found murdered in her apartment. Two of her four sisters spoke to NBC 5 on September 27th after receiving the news.
“She was an amazing person, and that's why we're blind to why this happened,” Sister Nicole Marshall said.
Chapman moved to Dallas five months ago and two months ago married a longtime acquaintance without telling her siblings, her sisters said.
“It was an on-and-off relationship. It was rocky. We knew that,” Marshall said.
A few days later, 48-year-old James Michael Patrick was arrested in Austin on charges of murdering his wife.
His arrest affidavit stated that the couple had a history of domestic violence, which was documented in several Dallas police reports.
Police visits to couples' homes in conjunction with Family Place, a domestic violence shelter, are part of a new prevention program in Dallas. Dallas police said Tuesday that whether there was a home visit before the murder in this case is part of an ongoing police investigation.
Daniela Mares of Family Place has made several home visits to victims.
“The goal is early intervention to avoid tragedies, murders, repeat attacks. That's the ultimate goal, to prevent murders from happening,” Mares said. “We're not pushing them in any direction. There are a lot of victims who don't necessarily want to press charges or aren't ready to press charges, and that's okay. We give them a safety plan. , crisis intervention, and treatment.”
On Tuesday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia received an award from Family Place for his support.
At Dallas City Hall on Tuesday, anti-domestic violence activists worked with police to review the program and new legislation. Penalties for violators will become more severe, and a new offender register will be published online in January.
“It's an awareness. It becomes a database that people can search if they're in a relationship. Ironically, it was actually the dating services that were driving this,” said the former Dallas City Councilman. said Jennifer Gates, who led the Dallas Domestic Violence Advisory Council.
Tuesday's report showed infections had fallen by 5% over the past year, but Gates said the number of infections was still too high.
“You can't blame the victim. There are a lot of things going on. It's not about why people stay. That's why people become abusers. But that's why when there's violence, it's important to come forward and get help. It's important that kids feel wanted,” Gates said.
He said an evaluation will be carried out with the police as a service provider after the incident is resolved to improve future responses.
Her sisters said Jeanine Chapman deserves justice.
She previously served as personal assistant to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Before Chapman came to Dallas to work in digital marketing, she worked in television and film production in New York and California, Marshall said.
