TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A murder suicide in midtown Tucson is putting more focus on domestic violence, The alleged killer was already facing serious domestic violence charges when he was released as his case went through the courts.
Investigators say Michael Martinez Duran killed Michelle Ohnesorgen Johnson in the house, then killed himself. He was already charged with domestic violence against her.
Charging documents said in that earlier incident he strangled Johnson, then threatened her with a gun.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover cited a National Institutes of Health study that says an abuser who tries strangulation is someone especially likely to become a killer.
“43% of all women who are murdered have been previously strangled by their partner. When a person has been strangled by their partner, there is an 800% increase in the likelihood of that person being murdered.”
Conover says her office fought efforts by Duran’s lawyer to lower his bond—-and that the woman he would eventually kill wrote a letter urging the judge to lower Duran’s bond. Johnson said she wanted to allow him to get counseling.
Release conditions did order Duran to stay away from her.
Duran’s lawyers, with the firm of South and Wright, say they were appointed to represent Duran and were simply meeting their obligations to represent their client. They do not want to comment further out of respect for the people involved.
Conover says sometimes abuse victims are so dependent on the abuser they will work against prosecutors.
A neighbor to the house where the deaths happened told us she rarely saw anyone and it always seemed sort of locked down. That’s consistent with the tight control abusers often exert.
Conover says most crime has declined since it hit a peak in the COVID pandemic, but domestic violence is still high at a time when domestic violence prevention programs are losing Federal funding.
She says if you suspect someone is trapped in domestic violence, call.
“Pick up the phone to Emerge (Center Against Domestic Violence). Pick up the phone to our victim services division here in the office, we've got an on call advocate of the day taking calls like this.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
