Tougher laws wanted by domestic violence advocates
Leticia Pedilla Vasquez did everything the system told her to do and still she ended up dead.
The 21-year-old woman was murdered by her abusive husband in front of their 6-year-old son last Saturday morning outside Santa Monica City Hall.
The young mother was there that morning to hand over their son to her estranged husband, Juan Carlos Vasquez, for a day-long, court-ordered unsupervised visit. She was so scared to face her husband that she asked a domestic violence counselor to accompany her.
They arrived early, circling the block in search of Juan Vasquez, 27, to avoid a confrontation before the scheduled exchange in the lobby of the Santa Monica Police Department. She never made it.
Instead, as Leticia Vasquez, her son and the counselor walked up the sidewalk toward the police station, Juan Vasquez suddenly appeared out of a large group of nearby homeless people brandishing a knife. He stabbed her repeatedly through a restraining order, which she clutched to her chest.
Santa Monica Superior Court Commissioner Bobbi Tillmon had issued the restraining order two days before. The piece of paper was found lying on the ground with multiple holes in it from the knife.
The court’s decision to grant visitation between the child and father dumbfounds some advocates who say the laws must be changed. They question how the system failed a woman who went through all the proper steps to protect herself.
“Don’t put the woman back in harm’s way and don’t give the little kid back to someone who is deemed dangerous,” said Kathie Mathis, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Santa Clarita, where Leticia Vasquez and her son were staying for the past several weeks. “We need to have those laws changed.”
Los Angeles Superior Court officials declined to comment on the case, saying it’s still pending. The boy is now in protective custody with the state.
According to court records, this was the second restraining order Tillmon issued between the couple in the past year. A temporary restraining order was issued Nov. 27 after Juan Vasquez punched his wife in the face, which brought police to their Los Angeles home and put her in the hospital.
Tillmon allowed Juan Vasquez to visit his son on his days off, and take him to and from school. But after a hearing a few weeks later, a restraining order was issued until July 1 and Juan Vasquez was not allowed to see his son.
Once the restraining order expired, Juan Vasquez was back at home beating his wife and controlling every move she made, according to court documents.
“While driving he punched me in the head with a closed fist and slapped me across the face with the palm of his hand. He also hit me in the leg. He said he would kill me if I went to the police and that it would be my fault if he went to jail again,” Leticia Vasquez said in court documents. “While I lived with my husband he never let me leave the house without him. He would take me to work and pick me up from work. He let me make some phone calls, but would always check the phone number to determine who I was calling.”
Leticia Vasquez finally escaped from her husband in early September, when she convinced him to allow her to take their son to the first day of school. She went to a Venice Beach shelter which placed her in a battered woman’s shelter in Santa Clarita.
But she couldn’t hide from him for long. Tillmon granted Juan Vasquez’ request to see his son every Saturday, the first of which was that day in front of City Hall. Tillmon also ordered Juan Vasquez to attend a certified program for abusers for 12 months. He already had been attending a similar program stemming from a criminal misdemeanor charge of domestic assault and battery when he beat Leticia Vasquez late last year.
Domestic violence judges and attorneys have to keep what’s best for the child in mind when ruling on civil cases. Under state law, a parent who has been issued a restraining order is allowed to visit with their child on a specified day and time as long as it limits the child’s exposure to domestic conflict or violence, and ensures the safety of all family members.
And because of similar state laws, even parents who abuse their spouses have a right to see their children.
Alicia Cortrite, a deputy city attorney who handles domestic violence criminal cases for Santa Monica, said it’s difficult for judges and family law attorneys to determine what an emotionally unstable person will do. Almost 99 percent of domestic violence cases involve the abuser threatening the victim’s life, which makes it difficult to assess each situation.
“The courts are not threat assessment agencies. It is impossible to predict when someone is intent on killing their significant other. It’s just a matter of where and when,” Cortrite said. “It takes a lot to stab yourself... that’s a lot of anger. As long as he had access to her, he was going to kill her.”
“It takes a lot to stab yourself... that’s a lot of anger. As long as he had access to her, he was going to kill her.” — — ALICIA CORTRITE Deputy city attorney
Cortrite said Leticia Vasquez’ case is baffling because she tried to do everything she could to protect herself, but it wasn’t enough. More laws need be passed so judges’ hands are not tied when granting visitation rights for the abusers, advocates say.
It’s unclear whether Leticia Vasquez could have had someone else deliver their son to his father. The county’s Judicial Procedure Commission is studying a program that would standardize custody drop-offs at sheriff’s stations, where exchanges often occur.
Many advocates believe a mandatory “cooling off” period should be in place for abusers before they are granted visitation with their children so the court can review how he or she handles the restraining order and therapy. In Leticia Vasquez’ case, only two days had passed.
“The most dangerous time is when they leave the relationship. But the state is going to believe that it’s in the best interest of the child that they see their father,” Cortrite said. “Maybe this cooling off period is like giving them a year time-out.”
The counter argument is that it could make it worse.
“If everything is taken away from him, that may drive him over the edge,” Cortrite said.
Advocates and experts aren’t allowed to speak on the victim’s behalf in the courtroom. If they were, they could offer their knowledge as to how the abusers act after their control is taken away, the shelter’s Mathis said.
“When they know they are losing control, that’s when they become the most lethal,” she said. “Batterers do not think logically. When there’s a threat to their ego structure, it affects them to where they do this kind of act.”
Police say that responding to domestic violence calls is some of the most dangerous work officers do. And even though it didn’t protect Leticia Vasquez, a restraining order still is effective in most cases.
“They have the most teeth because they are automatically transferred to the police departments and the parties know that,” said Richard Bloom, who has been practicing family law for 25 years and is a city councilman. “They know they are under the watchful eyes of law enforcement.”
He agrees that it’s difficult to predict the actions of people who are overwrought with emotion.
“People in this profession are always looking over their shoulder about what might happen,” he said. “The bottom line message here is that the work preventing domestic violence is not done.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 7, 2002. Read the original PDF.