13 murders in Jacksonville this year were domestic

Hubbard House says 1 in 3 female murder victims are killed by partner

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nekecheana Phillips is one of eight people in Jacksonville killed in the past week. After she was shot in front of her two daughters in Lackawanna last Friday, her ex-boyfriend was arrested.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's database shows that 13 of the 106 murders they investigated in 2018 were domestic. In 2017, the last full year of crime statistics from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were 7,036 domestic incidents in Duval County. Six of those involved a murder.

According to statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one of every three female murder victims was killed by an intimate partner. One in five women and one in seven men have been severely physically abused by an intimate partner.

Hubbard House, a resource for people in violent relationships in Duval and Baker counties, describes domestic violence as physical, emotional, sexual and economic abuse.

"I think one of the first and most courageous steps a survivor takes is when they reach out for help," said Gail Patin, Hubbard House's CEO. "They can call our hotline to do that 24/7. They don’t even need to give their name."

Patin said her facility is currently full of victims of domestic violence, but they will find a way to help anyone who calls. 

Hubbard House and other resources for domestic violence victims are available throughout Northeast Florida: