A pregnant teen, strangled and stuffed in a trunk.
Five women shot in their homes, with their partners or ex-partners accused.
Three moms fatally beaten, shot or stabbed, allegedly by their adult sons.
The domestic violence death toll in Wichita hit an all-time high last year, according to police. Fifteen of 47 homicides had ties to domestic violence.
“The severity of the kind of injuries or abuse has increased as well,” said Amanda Meyers, executive director of the Wichita Family Crisis Center, the largest area provider of services for domestic violence victims.
The center saw a big spike in demand for services in 2023. Year-over-year calls increased nearly 1,300 to 4,517.
“My subjective feelings on the issue: I think the economy has a lot to do with it,” she said. “And that’s what we hear from clients, is financial insecurity and inflation and things like that.”
She thinks that is why they also saw a spike in 2020, when there was pandemic stress and mass layoffs as many companies shut down work.