Kassandra Perkins forgotten victim in Jovan Belcher murder-suicide

People were shocked when they found out that NFL player Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend/ baby's mother and then pulled the trigger on himself this past weekend. Here's another sample of news coverage of the situation.

This is a really tragic story that gained widespread media attention, mostly about Belcher's motives. The news coverage brought up the question of whether or not head injuries/ concussions could be to blame for Belcher's unforeseen acts. The gun control argument was brought up as well.

As this opinion piece argues, the news coverage of this case is clearly missing what should be the focus of this story-- domestic violence.

"What is painfully evident though is that the murder of Kasandra Perkins was a blatant act of domestic violence, and the combination of that murder and Belcher’s ensuing suicide followed a path that is common in our country. And yet, while we seem willing to drift to the easy conversation (about concussions) or the politically charged conversation (about guns), we’re ignoring the painful truths about domestic violence and murder-suicides in American society."

The article also gives some stats about domestic violence in America that were quite startling. 

-3 women a day are killed by intimate partners

-91 percent of domestic murders are committed by men

-88 percent of those murders involve a firearm

I think the news coverage took the easy way out and focused on brain trauma or gun control and not domestic violence because Belcher was an NFL Player. He was supposed to be this ideal macho role model. The news says he killed his girlfriend because they had relationship problems, there was substance use involved, he could've had brain injuries, etc. All of these could be valid points but isn't talking about the obvious. Jovan Belcher committed a heinous crime of domestic violence that goes underreported that is detrimental to women.