Since 2005, at least 915 Arizonans have lost their lives in domestic violence related incidents. These tragedies represent a small fraction of those involved in abusive relationships in this state, but they demonstrate a wide ranging potential for lethality in intimate and familial situations.
This document examines the fatalities that occurred in Arizona from January 1 – December 31, 2012. Each year, the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence (AzCADV) catalogues domestic violence related fatalities by combing through hundreds of news articles from all over the state containing certain keywords. In 2010, the Coalition transitioned from a physical clipping service to an online service.
In order to create a complete picture of the lives lost to domestic violence in Arizona, the deaths are not limited to intimate partner homicides. They include homicides perpetrated by family members as well as suicides related to incidents of domestic violence and perpetrators killed by law enforcement when they respond to a domestic violence call. Our list also contains information of bystanders killed because they were at the scene with the intended victim, or because they are seen as a sexual competitor to the perpetrator.
