Homicidal bookends to 2012
Alcohol too often plays a role in domestic violence. It was tied to at least one of the two domestic homicides that Janesville suffered this year.
Last week, Rock County Judge James Daley sentenced Michael R. Paul, 37, to 28 years in prison for the January beating death of Lisa M. Schaefer, 49. Police reports suggest Paul had been drinking before he pummeled his girlfriend so hard that he broke her jaw, ribs and neck and knocked out teeth. After the beating, he went upstairs to drink another beer and relax, according to the criminal complaint.
That January death served as a tragic bookend with another domestic homicide this month. On Dec. 8, police found Traci Moyer, 45, dead with a cord wrapped around her neck. They arrested her estranged husband, Krystofer Carlisle, 54, after he recovered from a pill-induced suicide attempt, and charged him with first-degree intentional homicide.
What role does alcohol and/or drug abuse play in domestic violence? We’ll explore this issue in our editorial Sunday.
Sorry, as in most website stories involving crime, we're disabling comments on this blog. I'm posting it, however, to alert our readers to Sunday's editorial topic.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
