Violence Free Minnesota Adds Jerry Skluzacek to We Remember Memorial – West Central Tribune

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On Friday, it commemorated Jerome “Jerry” Skluzacek, 55, of New London, as Minnesota’s 14th confirmed domestic violence homicide victim in Minnesota in 2024.

No violence

we remember

is a memorial for Minnesota victims of intimate partner homicide. Every victim is someone’s child, parent, sibling, family member, intimate partner, friend, neighbor or co-worker.

The New London man was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking Tuesday afternoon on the 71/23 Bypass southeast of Willmar. He was allegedly shot by Ameer Musa Matariyeh, 25, of Minneapolis, who is charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and fleeing police.

Matariyeh allegedly fled the scene of a domestic assault in Minneapolis earlier, leading officers from several counties on a chase west into Kandiyohi County, where he is also charged in the earlier shooting of a Lake Lillian man who survived the injury its.

According to the “Violence Free Minnesota We Remember” memorial, Matariyeh fired from a balcony early Tuesday afternoon at his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend, who were trying to retrieve some of their belongings. They were not hit by gunfire.

Matariyeh is the father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. At some point, Matariyeh left the apartment and fled the scene in the vehicle while crisis negotiators reached him by phone.

“Jerry … leaves behind a fiancee and at least two children,” his We Remember memorial said. “Jerry was described as someone who was ‘always willing to help people’, had a good sense of humor and could ‘fix almost anything.’ “

Founded in 1978, Violence Free Minnesota, formerly known as the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, is a statewide coalition of more than 90 member programs working to end relationship abuse. He changed his name a few years ago to better reflect his ultimate goal of living in a non-violent state.

The organization’s mission is to end abuse in relationships, create safety and achieve social justice for all.

For more than 30 years, Violence Free Minnesota has collected information on victims killed by relationship violence in its annual.

Homicide report.

The report was previously known as the Femicide Report.

The We Remember memorial is updated each time the organization is notified that someone has been killed due to relationship violence in Minnesota.

Domestic violence statistics

The killing of Jerry Skluzacek demonstrates the widespread effects of domestic violence, affecting a bystander nearly 100 miles away from where a domestic violence incident began.

From 2013 to 2023, there were 56 bystander or bystander deaths in Minnesota, 44 of which were due to firearms, according to Violence Free Minnesota.

“We are capturing this data not only to provide a window into the field of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota, emphasizing that it is a public health issue rather than a private issue, but to highlight the sheer danger of firearms and domestic violence in combination,” the organization states in its 2023 Homicide Report. “When abusive partners have access to firearms, not only are victims/survivors at risk, but so are their family members, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and even strangers their.”

In 2023, at least 11 bystanders or bystanders died as a result of domestic violence, according to the 2023 Homicide Report.

There are various risk factors for death from intimate partner violence, including the victim’s attempts to leave the abuser, previous threats to kill the victim, the abuser’s access to firearms, the abuser’s history of violence, and strangulation of the victim.

“We cannot emphasize enough that the presence of these risk factors, even just one, indicates a victim/survivor may be at increased risk for homicide,” stated Violence Free Minnesota in its 2023 Homicide Report. “Victim/survivors must be always taken seriously by every system it comes into contact with. These killings are preventable.”

At its core, relationship abuse is rooted in power, control and oppression, according to Violence Free Minnesota. Relationship abuse refers to the desire to control one’s partner and to enforce this desire through emotionally, sexually, financially, and/or physically abusive behavior patterns.

Abusers use a variety of tactics to maintain control, including name-calling/put-down, economic abuse, possessiveness, threats, isolation, gaslighting and sexual violence, according to Violence Free Minnesota.

Non-physical abuse and coercive control can be just as extreme as physical violence, and the lack of known physical violence does not make abusive relationships any less dangerous. Some abusers progressively escalate to non-physical forms of abuse before killing their partners, even without a history of physical violence.

Safe Avenues of Willmar provides support services for victims of domestic and sexual violence in a seven-county area of southwestern Minnesota. To contact Safe Avenues toll-free, call 800-792-4210.

Contact information for Safe Avenues office locations is as follows:

Kandiyohi County — 320-235-0962
Swift County Outreach Office – 320-314-8500
McLeod County Outreach Office — 320-587-7981
Renville County Information Office — 320-522-0011
Meeker County Information Office — 320-593-0876
Chippewa County Information Office — 320-321-1199
Lac qui Parle County Information Office — 320-698-9277

The statewide emergency hotline can also help locate the nearest available emergency shelter by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.