Violent relationships could lead to homicide
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murder commands intense media atten
tion in Lincoln.
The most attention is paid to inci
dents where there is no victim-perpe
trator relationship. Random incidents,
like the murder of UNL freshman
Martina McMenamin, get more expo
sure. And with more exposure comes
more fear.
“We have a fear of the unknown,”
said Pat Tetrault, a sexuality education
coordinator at the University Health
Center and domestic violence lecturer.
“It’s harder to know what a stranger is
going to do.”
a muraer case in Lincoln is rar
more likely to look like the murder of
Tamara Ligenza. In September 1993,
Ligenza was allegedly strangled and
then burned in her apartment by
Clifford Davlin, her ex-boyfriend.
Prosecutors claim Ligenza and
Davlin got into a fight the night of her
death. Ligenza ended the relationship,
which had been stormy and abusive
throughout, and Davlin then came back
and killed her, prosecutors say.
Davlin has pleaded not guilty to the
charge of first-degree murder. His case
is pending in Lancaster County District
Court.
While Davlin’s case plods toward
a trial, the pattern has been repeated in
other cases in Lincoln and in Lancaster
County. It is something researchers call
the cycle of violence.
In the cycle, the relationship begins
and there is a tension-building stage,
which results in a fight with some sort
of abuse. Then there is the honeymoon
stage, where things are fine. But then
the cycle starts again, shorter this time,
and the violence escalates.
Tetrault said violence is a means of
control, and violence escalates when a
I
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It’s not about trying to change people, but
that people change.”
Pat Tetrault
sexuality education coordinator
person feels he or she is not in control.
Murder is the ultimate expression
of control on the part of the abuser.
“When somebody leaves, that is the
most dangerous time for the abuse to
escalate,” she said. “Many abusers will
say to people If I can’t have you, no
body can.’
“The ultimate way to control that
is to kill somebody.”
/\n example ui uiai is jaequeiyn
Walker and Byron Blueilt.
Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann Heermann
said the two had broken up. In Decem
ber 1992, Blueitt saw Walker in a car
with another man. Heermann said he
pulled out a gun, shot Walker in the
head and killed her, and also injured
the man in the car.
Something Tetrault was quick to
point out was that not all abusers kill.
Some walk away from a relationship
to go on and abuse others.
But for unknown reasons, other
abusers are set off and go on to kill their
loved ones. ■ ->
Another example is Jeffrey and
Tanner Fosler. They were shot in the
head by Jennifer Kramer on July 6,
1993. Kramer, the mother of Tanner
and former girlfriend of Jeffrey, report
edly wanted to get back together with
him. She shot both of them, and then
herself, on a country road southwest
of Lincoln.
Domestic abuse has become a hot
button issue in America, and police
departments are changing policies to
be more aggressive when it comes to
spouse abuse.
Capt. Jim Peschong, who heads up
the Lincoln Police Department’s crimi
nal investigations unit, said the depart
ment now has an officer to train others
about domestic violence and to review
cases to make sure they aren’t missing
a potentially serious situation.
“We would like to think that we are
able to head off some of that violence
beforehand,” he said. “Let’s hope, any
way.”
Officers now are looking for signs
of abuse and working more for the vic
tim, getting them outside counseling.
That counseling, Tetrault said, is
educational in nature. Counselors teach
victims what relationships should be
like and what spouses should not be
like.
“It’s not that people who are abu
sive are all bad,” she said. “Abusers
often have many good qualities. Those
kinds of qualities may outweigh, for a
short time, the abuse that happens.”
Victims need to look at their rela
tionships and determine if they are ex
tremely possessive, controlling and
negative. If the spouse listens, respects
and accepts, they are not abusers.
“We need to try to educate people
what healthy relationships are like,”
she said. “It’s not about trying to
change people, but that people change.
“It’s about can you be who you are
and grow in that relationship? Is there
emotional support?”
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1
Body
count
The following statistics are from
Lancaster County Sheriff and
Lincoln Police Department
records for murders in the '90s.
Weapon used
Gunshot 10
Stabbed 5
Asphyxiation 5
Trauma 4
Misun t
Impaled 1
Fatal wound
Head 7
Neck 7
Torso 7
Multiple 3
Back 1
Groin 1
Information about the murder of Anne True is
not included because it is an open case.
_ i
. Aaron SteckelbercVDN
But one major obstacle in relation
ship counseling is emotional ties.
People are loyal, she said, and that
bond can sometimes be tough to over
come.
“But then the issue is how do you
make people aware of and protect
themselves against the people they
know and love?” she said.
“It’s much more difficult to deal
with relationship violence when there
is a relationship there.”
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