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Morinville sheds light on domestic violence

In the wake of two tragic murders this year local police and community groups put the spotlight on domestic violence in Morinville last week.

In the wake of two tragic murders this year local police and community groups put the spotlight on domestic violence in Morinville last week.

The Morinville RCMP hosted a roundtable event last Thursday evening that included representatives from the Edmonton Family Law Office, St. Albert Stop Abuse in Families, Victims' Services, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission and Children's Services.

RCMP Const. Colette Zazulak, who works on serious domestic violence cases across the Capital region, told participants the entire community has to be part of the solution.

"The onus is on community members to get involved. If they know that a colleague, a family friend or a neighbour is at risk that they reach out to them."

Zazulak said domestic violence too often flies below the radar in communities and people don't want to acknowledge it exists.

"It doesn't mean that there hasn't been violence going on, it just means that it hasn't been reported."

Zazulak regularly conducts domestic violence presentations and said having the right information can empower people to get involved. "We want to encourage people to learn about the supports and to get involved."

Zazulak related a personal story about a black eye she got while playing ball hockey with her daughter. She was alarmed that despite working in a police station no one asked what happened.

"I found people wouldn't make eye contact with me when I had a black eye."

Recent incidents

Morinville has seen two situations of domestic violence end in tragedy in the past year.

Anette Marie Dupuis, a realtor who lived in Cardiff, was killed in December in an apparent murder-suicide case that shocked the small hamlet just south of Morinville.

Police believe Joseph Terrence (Terry) Rogerson, who had been dating Dupuis, stabbed the woman before taking his own life.

Morinville is still reeling from the death of Jessica Ryan Martel who was killed on April 29.

Martel's common-law husband James Gary Urbaniak, 29, was charged with the second-degree murder on May 8. He has yet to enter a plea on the charges and will make his next appearance on July 2.

Martel's parents were in the audience Thursday night and are now taking care of the couple's three young children.

Morinville RCMP Staff Sgt. Mac Richards said the issue is at the front of people's minds in light of the tragedies.

"It is more prevalent in people's mind for sure and that is one of the reasons we wanted to bring this forward for sure."

Richards said knowing the supports are there is key.

"Knowledge is really power for the person who is being abused or for the family members who see a dysfunctional relationship."

On the rise

Zazulak said she has seen a disturbing rise in the number of domestic violence cases.

"It is sort of hard to attribute it to any one thing, but we know that in the past few months we have seen an increase in our stats."

Marie Mansfield, education co-ordinator at St. Albert Stop Abuse in Families, said they have also seen a rise in the last few months. She said too often the public at large views domestic violence as a private matter when in fact it can have ripple effects across the community.

"We heard it over and over again, we don't want to get involved in it," she said. "There is so much fear around it and so much judgment."

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