Violence victim
John Tassinari was ordered held without bail yesterday following his arraignment in Brockton District Court. He told authorities he shot his wife because she had been cheating on him, according to The Associated Press.
Published 22:16, April the 23rd, 2008
Victim advocates lobby against $1M budget cut
Group rallies at Statehouse for domestic violence support
BOSTON. Arlene Meara worried she was overprotective of her daughter, Shannon. When Shannon, 24, was killed earlier this year by a man she dated for only a few months, Arlene knew there wasn’t enough protection.
Such is the situation facing domestic violence victims who will not have the support in place if $1 million in proposed House budget cuts go through, victim advocates said yesterday at a lobby day at the Statehouse.
“Shannon was always the first to try and help others,” Arlene Meara said. “We can’t help her anymore, but we can help others. Shannon would be our greatest supporter.”
Shannon is one of 10 victims of domestic violence homicide in the state this year, the most recent coming Tuesday night in Abington, where 29-year-old Barbara Tassinari was allegedly killed by her husband, John Tassinari.
There were 42 such victims last year, a marked increase from 28 in 2006 and 15 in 2005, making this precisely the time for increased support services, advocates said.
Jane Doe Inc., the state’s leading advocacy group for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, is pushing for an increase of almost $11 million toward victim services.
The agency has been predicting an increase in victims like Meara and Tassinari, who was found face down in her driveway suffering from 12 bullet wounds.
“Victims are fading into a ravine in local programs that cannot do what they used to,” Jane Doe Inc. Executive Director Mary Lauby said.