While they may be beaten while in the relationship, if the abuser is more likely to kill them when they try to leave. This guy was a psycho. Restraining orders only work if the police can get there before he can kill her. There are a lot of dead women out there proving that the police can't always save them and that restraining orders don't stop knives or bullets.

This guy was one scary psycho. I would have dumped him and called the police the first time he tried anything. But I was raised differently, have good self esteem and have a large family and supportive friends that would have...been an effective deterrent to anyone that was threatening me. But does everyone have someone that will always have their backs? I am just trying to put myself in someone else's shoes. I can imagine a lot of reasons that might make it harder for some women to leave than it would be for us.

I will agree that there are some women that could get out if they wanted to and I don't get what makes them stay even though I could tell you their reasons. (Understanding reasons doesn't mean you have to agree with them.) But there may have been things going on in this case that we don't know about and lets face it, some people just aren't that bright. Some people need a little mercy.