Virginia Police Department declares spate of domestic murders regarding – NBC4 Washington
Four young men have been charged with killing family members in Fairfax County in recent months, and police say they are concerned about an increase in family violence.
In the most recent case, Philip Nguyen, 19, was accused in early September of stabbing his father, Truman Nguyen, 78, to death and burying his body in the backyard of their home in the Falls Church area.
In August, Bradley Lister, 33, was arrested and charged with murder days after police said he shot and killed his mother and sister inside his mother’s home in Burke, in Virginia.
“Family violence is a concern. The rise in domestic violence homicides, you know,
kind of makes us shake our heads, ”said Fairfax County Police Major Ed O’Carroll.
Last year there were 15 homicides in Fairfax County. But 18 people have died in homicides so far this year. Five of them were victims of domestic violence.
“It’s a number that, you know, we didn’t want to see but we’re here. But we’re not talking about numbers, we’re talking about families and lives – lives shattered,” O’Carroll said.
O’Carroll said there was no doubt in his mind that the pandemic was largely to blame.
“Maybe the isolation of individuals has intensified – something has changed and we are seeing this increase in domestic violence,” he said.
Rachna Krisnan runs the Women’s Center, which provides counseling to victims of domestic violence. She agrees that the challenges posed by the pandemic are fueling unrest in many homes.
“We are seeing a 40% increase in counseling sessions with existing clients.
So even our existing customers feel more pressure, more abuse, more stress at home, ”Krisnan said.
New customer demands are also higher than ever. His strongest advice to those who are in difficulty or who are afraid:
“Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Pay attention to situations, words, actions that don’t feel right to you and come out.”
O’Carroll urges those feeling family tension to seek help early. And he reminds us that the community also has a role to play: get to know your neighbors and talk about them if
there is trouble.
“If they hear something worrying, the police are there to help them,” he said.
