Robert Barton, head of the Tucson Police Department domestic violence unit. Barton said abuse victims should plan a safe way to leave ahead of time . You need to have a safety plan,'' he said. A city-county task force is aiming to improve the Tucson area's response to domestic violence. Perhaps the most chilling deaths in Pima County last year were those caused by child abuse.
Experts cite stress and drugs as two factors that can drive a parent or caretaker to homicide.
They just plain old lose it,'' said Sgt. Debra Edwards, head of the Police Department's dependent child unit. Those who kill children lack parenting skills or a support network to deal with the stress of child care, she said. The number of child abuse homicides reported in Pima County last year roughly mirror figures from past years. The numbers also are in line with national numbers, which show that about 2,000 children die each year from abuse, said Dr. William Marshall, chairman of Kino Community Hospital's department of pediatrics.