Domestic violence numbers have risen in Oklahoma since the start of COVID-19.
“People who are married or in a relationship are spending an enormous amount of time together, it’s a very intense time and unless you’re a really integrated couple it can be very easy to get on each other’s nerves,” Howard Kurtz, professor of sociology and criminal justice at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, said.
Couples who stay in a confided area together who also have kids are at high risk as well.
“Raising small children can be hard, and if you’re raising small children in a confined space without them going to school it can create a situation which could potentially start a fight and it possibly escalades from there,” Kurtz said.
When talking to the Weatherford Police Department detectives say they haven’t seen a significant change locally in domestic violence cases since before COVID-19.
In a recent Custer County case, police came across a woman walking down the street after getting called out by dispatch. The woman had bruises along her neck. Police asked if the bruises were an attempt of strangulation.
The victim responded and told police she broke up with her boyfriend, Gabriel Jesus Herrera, 18, and he shoved her onto the couch. The victim is uncertain if he used one or both hands, but he attempted to strangle her.
She said she ran out of the residence and he followed trying to push her back towards the house. The victim ran back to the house and told Herrera’s mother what was going on. She advised the mother to keep Herrera at the residence so he wouldn’t get in trouble. The victim left the house and police found her walking the street.
A judge heard testimony Thursday regarding a reduction for his bond. A judge denied the motion, bust said if proof of Herrera is attending classes, the judge will reconsider the bond reduction. Herrera is back in court November 6 for a preliminary hearing conference.