Mental health gaps fuel Duval domestic violence deaths

In 2025, 16 homicide cases in Duval County were connected to domestic violence, with mental health a factor in 12 of the cases, according to Jacksonville officials.

So expansion of "affordable and accessible mental health care programs, including not only crisis counseling, but long-term psychiatric care" leads the recommendations of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which recently released its annual report.

In 12 of the 16 fatal cases, the suspect, victim or both had mental health problems, with at least five cases "not actively engaging in treatment, according to the report.

"Mental health care needs to be viewed holistically, including pairing case managers with such programs to support transportation, community referrals, housing

and other needs that — when addressed — can enhance the likelihood of a person successfully engaging in ongoing treatment," the report said.

The 15-member review team is led by Hubbard House, the certified domestic violence center for Duval and Baker counties, and the State Attorney's Office. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

"While homicides overall are declining, domestic violence — and domestic homicides — will always remain a serious concern," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said. "With partners like Hubbard House, we can support victims as they seek safety and justice. In 2025, our prosecutors secured guilty verdicts in 100% of the felony domestic violence cases they took to trial. We will continue to prosecute these cases with the urgency and resolve they demand."

The 16 domestic violence-related homicide cases in 2025 led to 21 deaths, including three perpetrators who died in a murder-suicide. Two additional were determined to be justifiable homicides. Also, 10 of the 16 homicide cases involved "intimate partners" and six were family violence, according to the report.

In Duval County in 2024, there were 19 domestic violence-related deaths, stemming from 14 homicide cases.

This year's numbers show a "clear indication of the scope of domestic violence. There was at least one lethal case of domestic violence in every police district across the county in 2025," the report said. "While domestic violence is often considered a private, isolated matter, the reality is that thousands of people suffer in all local ZIP codes each year."

The report also recommends:

• Greater focus on "lethality indicators," such as history of domestic violence, priorstrangulation, suspect’s threat of suicide and use or threats to use a weapon, the report said. Such indicators should be explained to victims and they should be told of support available when leaving a relationship. Also, domestic violence centers should form partnerships with hotels, temporary rentals, gyms/fitness centers and food banks, "with a special focus on safety planning for leaving an abusive relationship," the report said. In four of the 16 fatal cases in 2025, the homicide victim was "actively in the process of leaving" the batterer relationship, the report said.
• Law enforcement and other agencies reponding to domestic violence must ask victims about access to firearms, which were used in nine of the 16 domestic violence homicide cases in 2025. Also, authorities should explore restricting firearms access through Risk Protection Orders.
• Working with domestic violence centers, youth-serving and mentoring organizations should provide domestic violence prevention programs, including conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, healthy relationship skills and related topics. Of the 16 cases fatal cases in 2025, six stemmed from family, the highest number in that category since 2021. And four of them involved a suspect or victim who was "exposed to or experienced violence during their youth," which heightens the chances of them being involved in domestic violence later, the report said.

Take action against domestic violence

Hubbard House has launched a social media campaign, #WhereYouAre, to reach domestic violence survivors through the people who know them best.

"Your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors — someone you know — has experienced domestic violence. Someone you know may be living in abuse right now," President and CEO Gail Patinsaid. "Domestic violence is #WhereYouAre and we need your help to reach survivors."

The campaign "is a charge to our community to acknowledge that domestic violence survivors and their advocates are here and everywhere, " Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said. "This call acknowledges that a survivor’s journey is a shared one, one in which community members partner. Each and every one of us can and should play a vital role in a survivor’s story."

Here are ways to help the cause:

• Attend Hubbard House's annual Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial Breakfast 7:30 to 9 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, 1000 Water St. hubbardhouse.org/event/32nd-annual-barbara-ann-campbell-memorial-breakfast
• Attend the Hubbard House Male Engagement Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Cox Media Group Farah & Farah Performance Studio, radio entrance, 11700 Central Parkway, Jacksonville. hubbardhouse.org/event/hubbard-house-male-engagement-initiative-oct-7-2026.
• Check out the Duval County Courthouse lawn, which through October will host 6,447 purple flags, representing each injunction for protection filed in Duval County in 2025.
• Launch a donation drive to support the Hubbard House pantry and the 120 survivors and children in its emergency shelter each day. hubbardhouse.org/host-a-donation-drive-or-fundraiser.
• Invite a Hubbard House representative to business, social club or other group meetings to provide information about domestic violence and resources. hubbardhouse.org/host-a-speaker.

To read the full 2025 domestic violence report, go to hubbardhouse.org/press.

To get help, contact the shelter's 24-hour hotline at [phone] or its 24-hour textline at [phone]. Also, survivors Survivors can make an appointment or walk into the Hubbard House Outreach Center at 6629 Beach Blvd. Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Services are free and confidential.

Beth Reese Cravey has been a reporter for The Florida Times-Union for 45 years, currently specializing in nonprofits and health. She can be reached at [e-mail].

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Mental health gaps fuel Duval domestic violence deaths