Domestic violence-related deaths are, including Summit.
Last year, the county saw eight domestic violence-related deaths 鈥� up from one or two per year since 2020, said Theresa Stafford-Wright, CEO of
The center offers services like an emergency shelter, therapy and court assistance. This year, the center is seeing a 25% increase in demand for services compared to last year at this time, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e also seen an increase in our hotline, roughly 39%, and a 49% increase in individuals seeking shelter,鈥� Stafford-Wright told members of Akron City Council鈥檚 public safety committee June 1.
In 2025, four of the deaths were perpetrators who died by suicide after murdering a victim, she said.
Four deaths occurred in Akron. The four others occurred in Copley, Stow, Munroe Falls and Northfield Center, she said.
The center recently released a report examining some fatal cases to look for patterns or systemic gaps.
鈥淪eventy five percent of the victims in the cases we reviewed were leaving or had left the relationship,鈥� Stafford-Wright said. 鈥淪tatistically speaking, when a survivor of domestic violence decides to leave the relationship, that becomes the most dangerous time for that individual.鈥�
The biggest takeaway they found is that most offenders had a prior history of violent crime or domestic violence, showing the need for better prevention and screening, Stafford-Wright said.
鈥淥fficers don鈥檛 currently have a tool on-hand when they arrive at the scene to do an assessment 鈥� a high-risk lethality assessment," she said.
The report recommends implementing a Dangerous Assessment for Law Enforcement, or , which trains officers to screen offenders of unrelated violent crimes for signs that their partners could be at risk from lethal domestic violence.
The review showed outreach and awareness of survivor resources is also needed, she said. Of four deaths examined from 2020-2022, just two victims had reached out for help before being killed, she said.
Additional recommendations include more training for police officers about same-sex situations, as officers struggled to identify the primary aggressor in some cases, and more training for parole officers on domestic violence dynamics.
Stafford-Wright noted intimate partner violence and domestic violence are some of the most underreported crimes.
鈥淭here are times when there鈥檚 homicides or different situations taking place in the community that have a dotted line directly to domestic violence,鈥� Stafford-Wright said. 鈥淏ut, because domestic violence is overshadowed by another larger crime, we don鈥檛 always get that data appropriately.鈥�
Stark County advocates are also ramping up domestic violence prevention efforts after seeing sharp increases in deaths in recent years.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential support: Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Text 鈥淪TART鈥� to 88788.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can reach the national suicide and crisis lifeline by calling or texting 988.
