Incidents of domestic violence spiked across Colorado during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the numbers haven’t subsided. They’ve increased.

Data from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office from 2022, the most recent year available, shows the state hit a record high of domestic violence-related cases, which resulted in 94 fatalities, the most ever.

Of the deaths, 39 people were killed by a current or former intimate partner, 33 were the perpetrators and 22 were collateral victims, including six children and two peace officers responding to an emergency call for assistance.

“The amount of domestic violence is deeply concerning,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said Wednesday, while in Colorado Springs to announce the formation of a local Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board.

In marking October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a national campaign held annually since 1989 to highlight the problem and promote prevention, Weiser said the Colorado Department of Law is awarding $44,263 to TESSA, an organization that supports victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault in El Paso and Teller counties.

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The two-year grant will fund the new Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board for cases in the Fourth Judicial District. It’s part of $3 million the Attorney General’s Office has awarded to 10 organizations providing programs addressing prevention, victim advocacy and crisis intervention across the state.

The new board is being created now, said Anne Markley, CEO of TESSA of Colorado Springs. The organization, founded in 1977, provides a 24/7 safehouse for people fleeing domestic violence, housing assistance, clinical therapy, advocacy with legal issues and at hospitals, services for affected children as well as education and prevention curriculum for 6,500 kids in local schools.

The goal is to prevent fatalities by studying cases, finding deficiencies and determining how things could have been done differently to produce a different outcome, officials said.

“The review board is about creating change,” Markley said. “It’s a critical step in understanding patterns, trends, risks and warning signs to identify gaps in the system and prevent future tragedies.”

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Representatives from law enforcement, the district attorney and coroner’s offices and other agencies from cities within El Paso and Teller counties will join the review board, she said.

Convening such agencies will help the community and the state do better in responding, Weiser said: “It enables us to ask vital questions: what went wrong, what can be done, what have we learned.” 

El Paso County had the most deaths of any county in 2022, with a total of 20, which is a rate of 2.7 per 100,000 residents, according to Weiser’s office. Though Teller County had just two fatalities, that presented a rate of 8.0 per 100,000 residents.

The numbers only reflect cases known to authorities, Weiser said. “There are a lot of people that suffer in silence, and we need to raise awareness,” he said.

TESSA’s crisis line receives 1,200 calls a month from people seeking information and assistance, Markley said. About 40 people a day walk into the office for help. In all, the organization helps about 20,000 people a year. Markley attributes life’s stress and a growing population for the increased demand.

The state has three other Domestic Violence Fatality Review Boards, in Mesa County, Pagosa Springs and Denver.

Ten percent of all murders are tied to domestic violence, Weiser said, adding that he would like to see more review boards across Colorado. “The work launched here is going to save lives,” he said.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said domestic violence is one of the most pervasive crimes in communities, and in every case, specific interventions could have been used to avert tragedies.

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In the March 5, 2020, murder of Ann Jolynne Scott and her mother Tamara “Tammy” Dunn at the hand of Scott’s estranged husband, Timothy Ray Scott Jr., neighbors remembered hearing sounds indicating abuse, Allen said, and the husband had a history of domestic violence type of crimes. Ann Jolynne had finally decided to rid herself of the situation — the most dangerous time for victims — when she and her mother were brutally murdered, he said. Timothy Scott was convicted on multiple charges of first-degree murder for the double homicide.

Another incident that happened in Teller County in 2020 also had warning signs, Allen said. The husband had been arrested the month before and faced charges including child abuse, violating a protective order and harassment. A month later, the husband tracked down his wife at a campsite and shot her and then himself, leaving children behind.

Additional training for law enforcement on trauma and response will be included in the new program, El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal said.

Recommendations for improvement will strengthen what police already are doing, said Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. To date this year, his department has received 3,400 domestic violence calls, and officers respond to an average of about 12 a day.

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