The hearts of residents in Pennsylvania hang heavy after Tierne Ewing, the wife who was kidnapped, beaten, and tortured by her husband before escaping, was found dead on August 30. Tierne Ewing was found shot to death in a barn. According to the Huffington Post , it appears as if the husband shot his wife and then shot himself. He was found brain-dead after shooting himself in the head. Following her death, the residents of Pennsylvania are questioning what authorities could have done differently to prevent this tragedy from occurring.
According to the Observer-Reporter , Kevin Ewing kidnapped his wife, beat her, hit her in the head with a pistol, locked her inside of a closet, used a hot stick to burn her, and made her sleep with a rope wrapped around her neck. Authorities reported this man put his wife in a bathtub, pointed a pistol at her, and threatened to kill both her and himself on several occasions.
On July 8, Tierne Ewing was fortunate enough to get away from her husband when he allowed her to go inside of a bank. When she arrived at the bank, she was frantic and pleaded the tellers to call the police. When the police arrived at the bank, Tierne Ewing was too horrified to even leave the bank. She kept telling the police – and anyone who would listen – she did not want to die.
Video: One-on-one with Tierne Ewing’s family: Did the judicial system fail her https://t.co/52xvNYAqEj pic.twitter.com/CUtdmBqPzp
— WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (@WTAE) September 2, 2016
That same day, Kevin, the husband of Tierne Ewing was arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm, terroristic threats, and several other charges. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the husband of Tierne Ewing was released on a $100,000 bond after spending just three days behind bars. Less than two months after he was released, Kevin wasted no time kidnapping Tierne Ewing.
District Attorney Eugene Vittone believes the murder of Tierne Ewing was a preventable tragedy and is among the many who wish the authorities had done more to protect this woman from her husband.
“We are trying to get all the facts and see where the system may be improved. We probably need to take a look at how we address bail in these types of cases.”
While it is impossible for authorities to predict when a domestic violence case is going to turn into a lethal situation, experts believe most cases show warning signs to alert authorities that a case is especially dangerous.
https://t.co/1yeCFbzmLv He (Kevin Ewing)kidnapped,beat and tortured his wife.Free on bond he killed her (Tierne Ewing).
— sylvaner (@Sylvaners) September 8, 2016
Jacquelyn Campbell, a leading expert who has conducted decades of research on domestic violence and homicides, has played a role in helping identify important risk factors in situations such as this one. In fact, her work resulted in an 11-question screening tool that police departments all across the country are utilizing in order to identify which domestic violence victims are at a greater risk of a lethal situation.
Based on the research conducted by Jacquelyn Campbell, Tierne Ewing had almost every sign to indicate she was in extreme danger. For example, she had previously been strangled. This made her seven times more likely to be killed by her husband. Her husband owned a gun – this made her five times more likely to be killed. Tierne Ewing had been threatened by her husband on multiple occasions that he was going to killer her and them himself, so he wasn’t afraid to die.
“I totally agree that it was preventable because it was so predictable,” said Ellen Kramer, the deputy director of Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “When you read down the list, this screams out for some kind of heightened safety measures for this victim.”
While there are some police departments in the state of Pennsylvania that screen victims to make sure they are not a risk for lethal violence, it is not a statewide practice as of yet.
The judge originally on the case denied a request to increase bail, which may have prevented the husband of Tierne Ewing from being released. He did, however, agree to modifications that included the husband having no contact with his wife, the husband giving up all of his weapons, and the husband wearing an ankle bracelet so authorities would know if he left his home. On the day the husband killed Tierne Ewing, he cut off the ankle bracelet beforehand.
W Finley fire truck arrives near scene where police are conducting operation related to the missing Tierne Ewing. pic.twitter.com/KasCNzke2m
— Karen Mansfield (@karen_mansfield) August 31, 2016
According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, roughly 1,676 people were killed between the years of 2005 and 2015 because of domestic violence. While many victims are female victims, the number does include children, friends, coworkers, passersby, and perpetrators.
Unfortunately, the death of Tierne Ewing isn’t even the first high-profile domestic violence shooting to take place in the state of Pennsylvania this summer. Just last month, a husband killed his wife and all three of their children on the day she had finally planned to leave.
Do you think anything could have been done differently that may have prevented Tierne Ewing from being shot and killed by her husband?
[Photo by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation/AP Images]
