Suffolk domestic killing figures higher than Nassau

Homicides resulting from domestic violence dipped 12 percent in New York State last year but Suffolk County had 11 - the same number as the previous year - and a figure that is nearly twice the number reported in Nassau County, state figures show.

Suffolk reported seven homicides involving intimate partners and four involving other family members, while Nassau reported three between lovers and three between relatives, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services' report, Domestic Homicide in New York State: 2009.

Domestic homicide represented 33 percent or one-third of the 33 homicides reported in Suffolk in 2009. In Nassau, domestic homicide comprised 20 percent or one fifth of the 30 reported homicides.

Suffolk also tied Erie County for the state's third highest county tally. Brooklyn and Queens, both of which have more than one million more residents than Suffolk, had 18 and 19 domestic homicides, respectively.

In 2008, Suffolk logged 11 domestic homicides while Nassau reported nine. That was the same year when, police said, Leatrice Brewer of New Cassel drowned her three children, creating a spike in the figures that year. In 2007, Nassau reported four and Suffolk reported seven.

Overall in 2009, the state reported 130 domestic homicide incidents, down 12 percent from 147 the previous year. That drop follows the general downward trend in homicides statewide: There were 829 homicides in New York in 2008 and 781 in 2009.

Intimate partners were the accused killers in 89 of the domestic homicides, a 2 percent drop from the 91 in the previous year - and 76 percent of the victims statewide in 2009 were female.

"As this report illustrates, women are most at risk for violence by someone they know, often, in their own homes," said Sean M. Byrne, acting commissioner for the Division of Criminal Justice Services. "Policymakers on the state and local level must continue to closely monitor these trends and other sources of domestic violence data so that we can develop effective responses to combat and prevent this crime."

In 2009, 17 children were killed while in 2008 and 2007, 31 and 39 children were killed, respectively.

In addition, the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence reported that calls to hotlines and filings for orders of protection in court have also increased for the third year in a row.

"Unfortunately, New York, like many other places, is experiencing an increase in a broad range of domestic violence indicators, including more claims for reimbursement filed by domestic violence and sexual assault victims with the state's Crime Victims Board, more court cases for orders of protection, and more applicants for temporary public assistance disclosing their abuse," said Amy Barasch, executive director of the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence.