5 Horrifying Domestic Violence Cases

Lancaster, TX
In 2013, Jose Arreola was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his crimes
against Maria Escamilla. In 2011, Jose & Maria were living together
when this case of domestic violence occurred. Jose had beaten,
stabbed and mutilated Maria. Maria had been raped, sodomized and
cut on her face, mouth, limbs, and sexual organs.

Boiling Water Horror

Suzanne Thomas, a 32 year old woman, entered into a relationship with
a man known as Jason. When they were initially dating, things were
great, and both were very happy with their relationship. In 2013,

Suzanne invited Jason to move into her house. This decision did not
turn out as good as she though it would. They began to fight and bicker
more than they would talk. Soon, during one of their arguments, Jason
had shoved Suzanne into a wall, smashing her head into a wall, and
simply said Sorry Suzanne and promised to never do anything like
that again. Suzanne was constantly living in fear and asked Jason to
move out. Jason complied and packed a bag, and said hed come back
later for the rest of his stuff. Suzanne went out with her friends that
evening, and when she returned late that evening, Jason was waiting for
her. He forced himself into her house at knifepoint, where he then
proceeded to stomp on her head and face until she lost
consciousness. When Suzanne woke back up, Jason was standing over
her with a kettle of boiling water and proceeded to pour it onto
Suzanne. Jason then attempted to pour a second kettle but was
interrupted when police busted through the door.

Unrecognizable
The wife of Keith Allen McGill, a 45 year old individual, was just working
at home, when her husband came in a drunken state to their house.
McGill came home after drinking with his friend and crashed through
front door and knocked it off its hinges. McGill proceed to punch and
kick his wife and even stomped on her back, which she recently had
surgery on. The attack didnt stop there. McGill struck her with a lamp
and tore her scalp, burned her with a cigarette, beat her with a belt,
then choked and attacked her with a knife. McGill also threatened to
kill her and attempted to rip her tongue out of her mouth. This
brutality was only stopped when the neighbor that was drinking with
McGill intervened and distracted the husband long enough for McGills
wife to escape. The wounds were so severe that the Deputy County
Attorney, Ann-Marie McKittrick, said that her face was unrecognizable.

15 years a captive
Mary Clemons, now 40 years old, recalls her 15 year marriage, where
she was constantly abused and held captive. During these 15 years,

Mary has been gagged, tied up, beaten, stripped naked in the woods,
chased with a car, guns pulled on her, knives held to her throat, been
suffocated, locked and up all day, and so much more. Mary Clemons
finally left for good, after her eighth time of leaving, after 7 hours of
being suffocated and beaten and then raped for make-up sex.

Stabbed to Death
Alan Clinch, a 49 year old male, was stabbed with scissors after an
argument with his wife about cleaning in 2012. Alan is one of the male
victims of domestic violence where the male was the victim and not the
perpetrator. In a 2010, CDC report, in a years time over 5 million men
had been victims of intimate partner physical violence.

Victims of Domestic Violence

Getting Longer Prison Sentences
Than Their Childs' Abuser?

When they first started dating, Arlena Lindley said Alonzo Turner was a sweet guy.
She said he was kind to her and her toddler son Titches. But a few months later,
Turner began abusing them both. Punching, throwing, choking became part of their
daily lives. When Lindley once tried to escape to her fathers house, Turner tracked
her down, threw her in the trunk of his car and brought her back home.
Lindley tried to escape again after Turner whipped Titches with a belt, threw him
against the wall and stuck his face in the toilet. She grabbed Titches and ran for the
door, but Turner snatched him from her and locked her out of the house. Titches was
dead by the end of the day. Turner pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to prison
for life. Yet, Lindley was sent to prison, too. She got 45 years under Texas injury to a
child by omission law.
Lindleys story was reported in a Buzzfeed news investigation which exposed the
dangerous outcomes of these failure to protect laws. Buzzfeed found 28 mothers
and domestic violence victims in 11 states who were sent to prison for at least 10
years for failing to protect their children from abuse:
"Almost half, 13 mothers, were given 20 years or more. In one case, the mother was
given a life sentence for failing to protect her son, just like the man who murdered the
infant boy. In another, the sentences were effectively the same: The killer got life, and
the mother got75 years, of which she must serve at least 63 years and nine months. In
yet another, the mother got a longer sentence than the man who raped her son. In one
more, a father fractured an infant girls toe, femur, and seven ribs and was sentenced
to two years; for failing to intervene, the mother got 30."
Buzzfeed found that at least 29 states have failure-to-protect laws, such as injury to a
child by omission, by permitting child abuse or enabling child abuse. Nineteen
other states have laws that could also be used to prosecute parents, such as criminal
negligence in the care of a child. Maximum prison sentences for breaking these laws
vary from one year to life. And in some states, they carry the same sentence as child
abuse itself.
While these laws are designed to both hold mother and father responsible for
protecting their children, the law isnt applied equally. Buzzfeed found a total 73 cases

against mothers, yet only four against fathers. Women commit 34 percent of serious or
fatal cases of child abuse.
Mothers are held to a very different standard, law professor Kris McDaniel-Miccio
said.
Being victims of domestic violence is often used against mothers. Buzzfeed explains
that when Texas, where Lindley was charged, created its law in 1977, lawmakers
didnt have domestic violence victims in mind. In fact, it was more geared toward
parents who purposely put their children in harm's way, for instance, by not feeding
them so they would starve. Many of these state laws were created in the 1960s during
a movement of tougher child abuse laws. By the 1970s, domestic violence advocates
organized for protections against victims. In the 1990s, Texas added such a protection
to its law, but it didnt guard mothers who were aware of previous acts of child abuse.

The author of an Oklahoma failure-to-protect law, Rep. Jari Askins (D-OK), said she
understands the complexity of domestic violence, but doesnt believe laws need to
offer such specific protections for domestic violence victims. Instead, she has faith in
defense lawyers to present the full story to the jury and judge.
But instead of working in the victim's favor, a history of domestic violence is often
held against victims. Buzzfeed wrote:
"Some point to failed attempts to leave the abusive partner as proof that the mother
wasnt completely helpless and could have done more to save her child. Others cite
contact with police or social service workers about domestic violence prior to the
childs injury as missed opportunities to disclose more about the danger posed to the
child. Many, in one way or another, present the mans violence as a testament to the
mothers poor decision-making."
Stephanie Avalon, resource specialist for the federally funded Battered Womens
Justice Project, said, Its the ultimate blaming of the victim.

In a followup article, Buzzfeed explored the effects these laws have on children who
survive child abuse. The piece featured Collin Grant, whose mother went to jail for 20
years under Oklahomas enabling child abuse law. Colins mother was also a victim
of domestic violence. However, she got a longer prison sentence than her former
husband, who was sentenced to 15 years for raping Colin.
Colin didnt see his mother for five years, until he turned 18. He grew up being
shuffled between shelters and group homes. Colin said he wished he would have
never come forward about his stepfathers abuse, because he essentially lost his
mother.
The one person I was supposed to be able to turn to for almost anything I didnt
have that, he said. My mother is one of the most caring people in the world.