Washington State’s percentage of homicides resulting from domestic violence reached an all-time high in 2002 while the state’s crime rate stayed about the same as the previous year, says the Seattle Times. The number of domestic-violence offenses overall dropped to 38,193, the lowest since 1996.
Sixty-one of 184 murders–33 percent–were committed by the victims’ relatives or partners, up from 25.3 percent the previous year, said the annual crime report of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).
Of the domestic-violence murder victims in 2002, 34 were female and 17 were male, with the gender of 10 unstated. Girlfriends and wives were the most common victims, followed by husbands and mothers.
Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001833091_crimereport09e.html