PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Too many women in Rhode Island are being murdered by partners who are known to be a threat to their safety.

This troubling column raises important questions for state lawmakers and other public officials to consider. Please share this piece with them. 

In order to better protect women and all spouses, does our state require harsher statutory penalties for demonstrable and clear cases of ‘domestic abuse’? Or is stricter enforcement of existing laws required by the police, prosecutors, and judges?

It is clear that a slap on the wrist (freeing abusers into the public) and a piece of paper (restraining orders) are not sufficient.

Are “domestic violence”, “domestic abuse”, and “red flag” laws being appropriately enforced? Does it matter?

Sources: A list of sources has been provided by the author to The Current, including reports and information posted by the state, law enforcement, the RI OAG, other media entities, and by state nonprofit organizations.

Reader warning: this column contains graphic content and language.

***

At 9:14 on the night of May 20, 2024, the mother of 44-year-old Stephanie A. Francis called 911. She reported that police assistance was needed at 171 Stubtown Road in Hope Valley, RI where Stephanie was reportedly being physically attacked by her husband.

The 68-year-old woman had received a phone call from her young granddaughter earlier in the night, informing her that her son-in-law – Joseph R. Francis – had smashed Stephanie’s cell phone and that they were in the downstairs part of the house arguing. During the second call, the little girl reported that her parents were still downstairs and that she could hear her mother yelling “Get off me!”

Two Hopkinton police officers arrived at the two-story colonial and were quickly met in the driveway by Joseph Francis who began aggressively yelling at them to get off of his private property and accusing them of trespassing. Stephanie, who had followed her husband out to the police car, stood behind him, visibly shaken. The officers explained that they were responding to an emergency call. Joseph assured the officers that everything was fine. “We got to the bottom of it,” he told them.

One of the officers asked Stephanie if she was alright and she stated that she was. At that moment, Joseph began walking away, headed through the darkness toward the back door of the two-car basement garage. One of the officers issued a command for him to turn around and come back. He yelled, “Get fucked!” at the officer and kept walking.

Both officers began issuing commands for Joseph to stop walking and turn around. When he ignored the commands, they ran toward him and one officer withdrew his Taser. Joseph stopped walking and turned around. He was placed in handcuffs and patted down, being found to have a cell phone, a pocketknife and a flashlight on his person. The officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from him.

Joseph was put into the backseat of a cruiser. One of the officers remained with him while the other took Stephanie into the house where her young son and daughter remained. Eventually her parents arrived at the house.

The officer with Joseph was finally able to calm him down and make him understand why he was handcuffed. The officer then asked him to relate his side of what had transpired that evening. Joseph told the officer that he had been drinking that night and had become very upset about his wife having an affair. He said that he had discovered a few weeks earlier that that his wife had been trying to arrange to meet up with men she was connecting with on Internet dating sites. He admitted that he had also been visiting dating sites over the last few weeks – talking to women but not making any attempt to meet them. The fact that he she seemed to be utilizing the dating site more seriously than he was had angered him. He said he therefore smashed her cell phone and felt he had a right to do it since he paid for it.

Inside the house, Stephanie told the other officer that she and Joseph were going through a bad separation. She explained that she had told Joseph that she wanted a divorce back in August of 2023 and that he agreed to it and they mutually decided to wait until after Christmas to tell the kids and begin the proceedings. They remained living in the same household and continued to put off telling the children about the impending divorce or beginning the procedure. They decided they would do it after their daughter’s birthday, then after their son’s birthday, then after school let out for the summer. The children only learned of the plans for divorce a few weeks earlier.

Stephanie filled out a witness statement describing how Joseph had come home that night, forcefully grabbed her phone and smashed in on the concrete floor of the garage. She said he showed her the broken pieces and that he kept telling the children that their mother was going to leave them and break up the family.

Stephanie explained how she then went out to her vehicle to obtain a notebook which was inside it. The notebook contained a Rhode Island State Police report from five years earlier which concerned her husband being arrested for cyber-stalking another woman. She hadn’t been aware of the incident at the time it happened and had found out about it at a later time. She stated that she wanted the children to understand why she could not stay in a relationship with their father. She reported that once she had retrieved the notebook, Joseph tried to grab it out of her hands. She fell to the ground on the front lawn near the steps as he was pushing and grabbing at her in an attempt to seize the notebook. As she knelt in a fetal position clutching the notebook, he knocked her forward and she slammed her forehead against one of the stepping stones leading from the front yard to the steps. A raised red bump on her forehead resulted.

The officer asked Stephanie if there were any firearms inside the house and she informed him that there were. She said that she’d recently told Joseph to move the location of some of his guns because she didn’t feel comfortable with the location he had them in. She related that he had at least two handguns, one of them kept in a dresser drawer in the master bedroom. She asked the officer to please remove it from the house.

The officer followed Stephanie upstairs to the master bedroom and opened the dresser drawer. Inside was a SIG Sauer P320 handgun. It was unlocked. It was loaded. And it had a round in the chamber. In looking through the drawer, the officer found 16 high-capacity magazines – in violation of Rhode Island gun laws – which were loaded. These included five .556/.223 caliber magazines which contained a 40-round capacity and ten pistol caliber magazines which held upwards of 21 rounds. The officer took the gun and ammunition into his possession and, as he was exiting the house through the back door of the garage, noticed another SIG Sauer P320 handgun on a wooden shelf next to the door. It was also loaded. The officer took possession of that firearm as well.

The Large Capacity Feeding Device Ban of 2022 specifies that possession of such devices are prohibited for anyone but a federally licensed firearm dealer, a law enforcement officer, a retired law enforcement officer not prohibited, an active duty member of the Armed Forces authorized to possess and carry such device, or one who modifies the device by June 20, 2022 so that it cannot hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Any person violating the ban was to be punished by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to $5,000.

The officers determined that probable cause existed to arrest Joseph, the owner of a local fireplace and stove maintenance & installation company. He was advised of the charges against him and read his rights at 10:46 that evening. He was then transported to the Hopkinton Police station for processing, arraigned by a Justice of the Peace and released on $5,000 personal recognizance with a court arraignment date of June 4, 2024. The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families were notified of the incident as the two Francis children had been present in the home at the time of the assault, and a No Contact Order was issued.

At the station, the guns were tagged as property, the magazines were marked as evidence and all items were secured. Joseph had been charged with four offenses: Having prohibited possession of a large capacity feeding device – an ammunition device capable of holding more than ten rounds which are fed continuously and directly therefrom into an automatic firearm – a Felony; Domestic Violence Simple Assault and/or Battery using personal weapons such as hands or feet – a Misdemeanor; Domestic Violence Vandalism, First Offense – a Misdemeanor; and Domestic Violence Disorderly Conduct, First Offense – a Misdemeanor. It was also noted that he was suspected of having used alcohol before these crimes were committed.

At 9:00 on the morning of June 4, 2024, Joseph Francis was arraigned in the 4^th Division District Court before Judge J. Patrick O’ Neill. The conditions of his bond were then set: He was to be monitored for alcohol. He was to be monitored for mental health. He was to abide by the Domestic No Contact Order. His next court appearance – a screening – was scheduled for 9:00 on the morning of September 3, 2024. The appointment wouldn’t be kept. Seven weeks after police visited the Francis home and took Joseph away in handcuffs, Stephanie Francis – a beautiful woman, a loving mother, a devoted friend and a caring daughter – became a statistic.

At 11:47 on the evening of July 5, 2024, Rhode Island State Police were requested to assist Hopkinton Police with a possible homicide at 171 Stubtown Road. Inside the home, they found Stephanie – who had been employed as a waitress at Wood River Bar & Grill in Richmond – dead of a gunshot wound to the chest. Her two children and a young neighbor had been at the home when their father entered the residence and killed their mother. The children called 911.

An arrest warrant for 45-year-old Joseph Francis was immediately obtained, charging him with Domestic Violence Murder and Domestic Violence Violation of a No Contact Order. All local law enforcement agencies were told to be on the look-out for Joseph who had fled the premises in his black Chevrolet Suburban SUV. The description of Joseph and his vehicle was attached to the warning that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

It wasn’t until the following morning that Joseph was sighted. Officers of the Westerly Police Department observed him traveling along Route 1 at approximately 10:50 and made unsuccessful attempts to stop him. At approximately 11:36 that morning, officers of the Charlestown Police Department observed him traveling along Route 2 and additional unsuccessful attempts were made to pull him over. As he evaded police, a long chase ensued, taking Joseph down Tefft Hill Road at a high rate of speed. Upon reaching Nooseneck Hill Road, he swerved left, screeched across both northbound lanes and hit the median. The vehicle flipped over, landing upside down near the woods along the road.

The police officers involved in the chase got out of their cruisers and took cover, remaining in that position until the arrival of the SWAT team. Although there didn’t seem to be any movement in the SUV, the officers heard a single popping sound, much like that of a gunshot come from the vehicle. SWAT members descended on the SUV to find Joseph dead inside.

The event left the tri-town area stunned – but it shouldn’t have. It’s likely that Stephanie and those close to her believed that the No Contact Order would keep her safe – but they shouldn’t have. It’s a sheet of white paper with the Rhode Island emblem at the top and the words “NO CONTACT ORDER – DOMESTIC,” a place to check off which court issued the Order, a line for the names of the defendant and the victim, a space for the case number and a reminder at the bottom which reads “A person subject to this Order who possesses, transports or receives any firearms or ammunition may be subject to federal prosecution.”

This piece of paper is to prohibit the defendant from contact or communication with the person under the protection of the Order. This piece of paper stands to ban the defendant from interacting with the victim through letters, emails, text messages, messages delivered through a third party, stalking, visits, sending gifts and social media interactions. This piece of paper, in the hands of a man who wants to kill his wife is worthless.

As part of Joseph Francis’s court arraignment, he was subject to evaluation by the Rhode Island Pretrial Services Unit. The duty of the Unit is to access the risk of a defendant fleeing from the law or presenting a danger to the community if he or she is let out on bail. The duty of the Unit is to research a defendant’s criminal history and information relative to mental health issues or substance abuse. The duty of the Unit is to evaluate the threat to others if the defendant is let back out onto the street. The duty of the Pretrial Services Officer is to monitor the defendant, once released from confinement, to insure that he or she is in compliance with the conditions of the release.

Despite a No Contact Order informing him that he could not legally be in possession of a firearm, Joseph Francis went and got a gun. Despite a No Contact Order informing him that he could not legally interact with his wife, Joseph Francis entered the house his wife was inhabiting. Despite agreeing to follow all the rules so that he could gain his freedom, Joseph Francis went back to 171 Stubtown Road and completed the final step of domestic abuse.

In the United States, over 50% of females who are murdered are the victims of their own intimate partner. According to the Coalition against Domestic Violence, 55% of those women had Domestic No Contact Orders against their abuser. Twenty-seven percent of men who have killed their intimate partners had previously violated a No Contact Order. Thirty-three percent of men who have killed their intimate partners had previous domestic violence charges against them dropped by the Court. Seventy percent of those killed by intimate partners are women. Fifty-eight percent are white, 22% are Hispanic and 15% are African American.

Every month, nearly 60 women in the United States are killed by an intimate partner. In 2021, 1,368 domestic incidents in Rhode Island resulted in arrest. According to Rhode Island Kids Count, 486 Rhode Island children who witnessed domestic abuse received counseling in 2020.

Forty-three percent of domestic violence homicides in Rhode Island are carried out with firearms, 19% through physical beating, 19% through stabbing, 11% by strangulation and 10% by the use of a vehicle.

Children who witness domestic abuse are more likely to become a victim or a perpetrator of abuse than children who grow up without violence in the home.

Stephanie Oxendine was a 33-year-old North Kingstown woman who was killed by her boyfriend in 1992. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison – with 40 to serve, 20 suspended and 20 years’ probation. After serving 18 years, he was paroled in 2010. In August of 2012, he killed his new girlfriend, a 50-year-old East Providence woman named Michelle Busby.

Kelly McGinity McManus was a 35-year-old Narragansett woman who was fatally stabbed by her husband on June 29, 1996. He stabbed her six times with an 11-inch kitchen knife, the fatal plunge going through her left breast and left lung, into her heart. When her husband was located, he was in the process of trying to commit suicide.

Tammy Chan was a 35-year-old Westerly woman who was fatally shot by her boyfriend in 2002.

Mindy Lee Tardiff was a 21-year-old North Providence woman who was fatally shot by her husband on March 24, 2010. He then committed suicide.

Amber Arruda was a 28-year-old East Providence woman who was fatally shot by her husband on October 25, 2011. He then committed suicide.

Stacie Dorego was a 39-year-old Johnston woman who was fatally stabbed then dismembered by her husband on January 22, 2012.

Sherry Price Mann was a 48-year-old Central Falls woman beaten to death by her boyfriend on January 9, 2016. He is serving ten years for the crime.

Maria Cecilia Valasquez Palacio was a 50-year-old Pawtucket woman stabbed to death by her husband on February 11, 2016. He later committed suicide. Maria had reported to police the week prior to her murder that she was in an abusive relationship and that her husband was threatening to kill her.

Mary Jo Osgood was a 55-year-old Providence woman who was fatally shot by her husband on July 30, 2016. After a police chase which ended in the murderer crashing his car, he committed suicide.

Jennifer Silva was a 41-year-old Providence woman who was beaten to death by her boyfriend on May 20, 2017. He was sentenced to serve 26 years in prison.

Justine Cavaco was a 29-year-old Providence woman who was beaten to death by her boyfriend on August 26, 2017. She’d obtained a No Contact Order against him. He committed suicide.

Maniriho Nkinamubanzi was a 44-year-old woman from Providence who was beaten to death by her husband in November of 2017. Seven months earlier, she had obtained a No Contact Order after being beaten. Her husband was out on bail, having promised to stay away from her. Their children found their mother dead in a closet of their home with a fatal head injury.

Vicky Sonevong was a 24-year-old Providence woman who was fatally shot by her boyfriend, who had previously abused and threatened to kill her, on March 1, 2018. He then committed suicide.

Michelle Benvenuti was a 45-year-old Woonsocket woman who was fatally shot by her ex-husband on October 1, 2018. He then committed suicide.

Rachael Rene was a 34-year-old Providence woman who was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend who broke into her apartment on January 15, 2019. She had previously reported to police that he was violent and had threatened to kill her. At the time of her murder, he was out on bail and a No Contact Order was in place.

Lauren Ise was a 29-year-old Cranston woman who was fatally strangled by her ex-boyfriend on March 13, 2019. Two days before her murder, she had reported to police that he was at her home banging on windows and threatening to kill her. He was not, however, charged with any crimes at that time. She asked to have a No Contact Order put into effect as he had a long criminal history. At the time of her murder, he was on probation stemming from a disorderly conduct charge he faced after harassing her the previous month.

Berta Bogran was a 48-year-old Providence woman who was fatally shot by her husband on August 24, 2019. She had previously reported to police that he was stalking and threatening to kill her. A No Contact Order was put into place at that time which he violated – the consequence of which was the Court putting the case aside for a year so long as he stayed out of trouble, attended domestic abuse counseling and promised to obey the reinstated No Contact Order. After her murder, he committed suicide. On her initial affidavit, Berta was given the option of asking the Court to order the defendant to surrender any firearms in his possession as part of the Protect Rhode Island Families.  She stated that she would like to have that done. The surrender, however, never took place.

Kristine Ohler was a 30-year-old Pawtucket woman who was fatally strangled by her boyfriend on February 17, 2020. He had a history of domestic abuse and was out on bail after a previous charge of domestic abuse. The day of her murder was the third time he had ignored the No Contact Order. The day of the murder was the third time he had been arrested for “simple assault and battery.”

Tanya Gagnon was a 44-year-old Woonsocket woman who was fatally shot by her boyfriend on June 17, 2020. He had a previous history of domestic abuse. He committed suicide after the murder.

Erika Belcourt was a 40-year-old Woonsocket woman who was fatally hit with a moving vehicle by her boyfriend on August 22, 2020.

Sarah Unkuri was a 35-year-old Johnston woman killed by her husband on January 17, 2022. The previous day, her husband had been arrested for violating the No Contact Order for the third time, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He had a lengthy history of domestic violence including charges of assault by strangulation. The Court had dropped several charges against him over the years.

Gina Johnson was a 59-year-old South Kingstown woman who was fatally stabbed by her husband in December of 2023.

Courtney Huard was a 42-year-old Cumberland woman who was fatally shot by her husband on June 22, 2022. He then committed suicide.

Linda Beckman was a 60-year-old Coventry woman who was fatally shot by her husband in April of 2023. He then shot himself and died of his injuries.

Patricia Fasan was a 59-year-old Pawtucket woman who was pushed from a window and fatally injured by her ex-boyfriend on June 5, 2023.

Jocelyn DoCouto was a 33-year-old Central Falls woman who was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend in January of 2024.

The most dangerous stage of an abusive relationship is when the victim attempts to end it. When an abuser feels he is losing control of his victim, he will reach horrific new heights in order escalate her fear of him and gain back his control. A No Contact Order very often foreshadows death. To the abuser, a No Contact Order gives the illusion that control has been taken from him by his partner and by the Courts. To the abused, it gives the illusion that she is safe. It’s a piece of paper.

A No Contact Order means nothing to one whose disregard for the law has already resulted in the issuing of the Order. Likewise, the Protect Rhode Island Families Act, which was passed in 2017, prohibiting those who have committed domestic abuse from possessing firearms, means nothing to those who have already shown they have no regard for laws. Joseph Francis should not have had a gun. He was informed by the Court that he was not legally allowed to possess a gun. The known guns inside his house had been confiscated. And yet he obtained a gun and fatally shot his wife.

Consequences spelled out on a piece of paper mean nothing to those who don’t care about consequences. Why was Joseph Francis out among the community? He had drunkenly demanded that police officers get off of his property, refused to follow their commands and boldly instructed them to “Get fucked.” He had physically injured his wife and was found to be in possession of loaded and unlocked firearms and illegal amounts of ammunition kept in places easily accessible to his young children. Why did the Department of Children, Youth & Families not take immediate action to insure that the children were safe? Why did the Court allow Joseph Francis to walk out of court without being 100% certain of his mental state? Did anyone really believe that a piece of paper was going to save the life of Stephanie Francis?

Something isn’t working here in Rhode Island where our domestic violence laws are concerned. Something isn’t working when charges against abusers are repeatedly dropped by the Courts and No Contact Orders are ignored once, twice, three times, resulting in slaps on the wrist. Something is wrong when a man beats a woman bloody and gets charged with “simple assault” or takes her life and gets a manslaughter rap instead of first degree murder. Something is seriously awry when ten or fifteen years behind bars is considered adequate for taking away the life of a mother, a daughter, a friend. And something seriously irresponsible at a government level is happening when children have to watch their father abusing their mother again and again and again until one day she’s motionless in front of them with a bullet embedded in her body.

It doesn’t appear that “risk” is very seriously weighed here in Rhode Island when an abusive man ponies up a few thousand dollars and walks out of a courthouse – full of anger, full of resentment – being reminded to be a good citizen and obey the No Contact Order just imposed on him. If a  man fueled by rage and alcohol, ignoring police commands, hiding an arsenal of illegal weaponry and angrily instructing officers of the law to “get fucked” doesn’t seem like a risk factor, the just what in hell are we determining the “risk factors” to be? Bombs and schizophrenia? A history of serial killer behavior? Multiple personality disorder and a penchant for making poison? It’s not that dramatic. Sometimes all it takes for a woman to end up dead is an angry husband.

Our laws need to change. The penalties for domestic abuse need to be harsher. We need to start taking risk factors and threats seriously. More help for women in abusive relationships needs to be available. In a 2022 report released by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, it was announced that approximately 49 requests for help, per day – such as a safe place to go – were made by women being abused in Rhode Island and refused due to a shortage of available resources. Women caught in abusive situations almost always have to choose between safety and shelter.

We need to go back to the term “Domestic Abuse” instead of “Domestic Violence” so that the subject and available help includes the very wide array of abuses that usually happen before the physical abuse starts, such as financial control, emotional torment and sexual humiliation. And we need to stop letting domestic abusers walk – walk out of the courthouse and into the home of their intimate partner, not caring about a piece of paper that tells him he can’t or promises made to a judge. Plan in mind, weapon in hand – we’ve set them free to kill another – and another, and another.