More than 100 Ohioans killed in domestic violence incidents in the last year, report says

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network said 112 people were killed in domestic violence incidents from summer 2022 to 2023, according to the advocacy organization’s eighth annual count. That is the same number of Ohioans as the year before.

Of the 112 who died between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023—the perimeters of the annual count—more than 20 were minors. More than half of the 112 people had contact with law enforcement or the legal system about abuse before they died. ODVN called it a “pattern of continuous, unceasing violence.”

The count itself takes “a bit of a Herculean effort,” said Lisa DeGeeter, ODVN’s legal counsel. Advocates comb through news stories and information from member organizations around the state to put together the report.

Count coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Men and women clad in a variety of purple hues took over the Ohio Statehouse atrium Wednesday morning. The annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month event was partly about advocates celebrating recent legislative wins—like a new law that reclassifies strangulation as a felony—and about providing a platform for survivors like Paula Walters to share their stories.

Walters told attendees of how she survived near-fatal strangulation at the hands of her abuser, a then-boyfriend, in 2006. A "nosy neighbor” saved her life, she said, but the incident left her with lasting injuries.