Domestic violence incidents permeate North Texas Christmas holiday
Four crime scenes frame a familiar foe in North Texas for police and those who want it to end.
The first on Christmas Eve in the 200 block of Rash Lane, where Terrell Police said they found four bodies, ranging in ages from 66 to a 12-year-old boy.
Police said Philip Dale Humphrey, Sherry Lynn Bostick, and a 12-year-old boy died from a gunshot wound. Casey Dale Humphrey died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The matter remains under investigation.
Three days later in Haslet, Tarrant County Sheriff's deputies said they responded to a domestic disturbance call in the 14000 block of Oak Bark Drive.
Deputies said one man was detained. His name has not been released. They also said an officer-involved shooting happened inside the home. Before the second man was transported to the hospital, investigators said life-saving measures were performed
In Grand Prairie on Sunday, police said a 62-year-old man shot his son in the face before killing himself and his wife.
Also on December 28, McKinney Police responded to a welfare check in the 5300 block of Dunster Drive. Investigators said they found former McKinney City Manager Leonard Ragan and his wife Jackie, shot to death.
Police said they also found their 34-year-old son, Bryce Ragan, with a firearm, who would not obey officers' commands. Officers said they shot and arrested him in a capital murder of multiple persons investigation.
In the Christmas holiday cases under investigation, three of the victims are women.
Holiday season brings surge in domestic violence cases
"So number one, if there is any type of a weapon in the home, especially firearms," Ruth Guerriero said. "We see that that increases the likelihood that he is going to kill her."
Guerrierro is the Chief Clinical Officer at the Genesis Women's Shelter & Support. She said abusers are more likely to kill if they have tried to strangle the victim, if children are a part of the picture, and if the victim has tried to leave the abuser.
Shelters normally get full around this time of year and in the summertime. There are more counselors to work with women, but even with a plan, the unacceptable reality remains that something fatal could happen.
"You know, domestic violence is not going away, and it is everywhere, right? You can see it in your favorite movies and songs, and, unfortunately, maybe in friends or neighbors," Ruth Guerriero said. "For me, the hard part is that it's still a fight."
Guerrierro said that, as we end 2025, people should work on believing the victim instead of investigating them. She said the abuser may have engineered a social facade that makes the allegations challenging to believe.
"Our job is not to be the investigator or the detective," she said.