Crisis Center director: Death was preventable

The violent death of Katherine Humphrey could have been prevented, said Suzanne Smith, executive director for the Crisis Center, an agency in Fremont that helps victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

The challenge is to get people to change their views of domestic abuse, Smith said.

“This is a society issue,” she said. “People have gotten used to looking the other way. They don't want to get involved. That's the problem. Our society has created this problem.”

Confidentiality stipulations prohibit Smith from saying if the 28-year-old Humphrey was a client at the Crisis Center, but police have said that the man charged with killing Humphrey, Corey Beerbohm, 37, has a history of violence, and the couple had a history of domestic abuse.

Fremont Police Department Deputy Chief Steve Tellatin said police were called to an apartment at 506 E. 30th St. on March 22 for a domestic disturbance when the two lived there together. Even though no charges were filed, a petition to revoke Beerbohm's probation was filed.

Humphrey's body was found Thursday afternoon with knife wounds to the neck and torso, Tellatin said. A kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered by police.

Formal charges against Beerbohm were filed around 10 a.m. Friday, said Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan.

Beerbohm was charged with first degree murder, a Class I or IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a Class III felony, and violating a protection order, a Class II misdemeanor, Vaughan said.

Shortly after the March 22 incident, Humphrey got a protection order against Beerbohm after he moved to Scribner, but he told police that he was waiting for her when she went home for lunch Thursday.

Smith said workers at the Crisis Center always advise domestic abuse victims to get protection orders, but the workers tell what the limitations of the protection orders are.

“We explain to women about what a protection order can and cannot do,” Smith said. “We explain that it's just a piece of paper. It's a civil order until it's violated then it becomes criminal. Some people are respectful of the law. The others who might disregard the law are the ones the women might need to get additional protection from.

“But it is a great tool because then if the person violates it, the police can then arrest the person without there being an assault,” she said. “In domestic assault, the person we don't have control of is the abuser. I think we have to hold them accountable. He had a history of violence.”

When someone in the community is killed in a domestic assault, those who are still in or recently out of abusive relationship become more afraid, Smith said.

“It strengthens the fears of everyone,” she said. “This has devastated our staff. We know that this could happen to any of the women we work with. It's very scary. It's very scary to us when we work with this every day knowing how many of them can be killed. It's the reality of domestic violence.

“At the time a person leaves a relationship they are at a great risk of homicide. That may better explain why women in abusive relationships are afraid to leave, why they get restraining orders when they do leave.”

People must open their eyes and their minds to the realities of domestic abuse, she said. The Crisis Center received 2,500 crisis calls last year from Burt, Cuming, Dodge, Saunders and Washington counties, and most of those were from Dodge County.

“That's a lot of people in scary abusive relationships,” she said. “These are people calling for help 24 hours a day; literally 24 hours a day.”

She said domestic violence is any act of power and control over an intimate partner. Domestic abuse comes through different forms - emotional, physical or sexual violence.

It can be aggressiveness toward someone the abuser dates, lives with or has a child with, she said. Domestic abuse can occur at different levels.

“Most of them are scared that the abuser will kill them,” Smith said. “That is a common thread in all abusive relationships. This community should be outraged and scared that their neighbors are so vulnerable to the acts of such violence.

“We are truly grateful to the court system, law enforcement, the Crisis Center and other agencies which are continuously working to stop the violence, but it isn't enough,” she continued. “Even within the best community collaboration, the one person we don't have control of is the abuser.

“I urge every person to take domestic violence seriously. If you know someone who is being abused, talk to them, give them the crisis line number. If you know someone or a family member who is using abuse, talk to them, get them some help. When we recognize that abuse is happening and choose not to say anything, we are supporting the abusive situation.”

The crisis line can be reached at (402) 727-7777 or 1-800-876-6238. The call is confidential.