‘Unimaginable murder-suicide’ rattles Fresno neighborhood. Residents search for answers

The small neighborhood in southeast Fresno where police say a woman was shot to death Saturday by her daughter’s father seemed quiet on Sunday. Neighbors mowed their lawns or fixed their cars, a teenager pulled a wagon of children down the sidewalk.

Just a day earlier, police say a 40-year-old man shot a woman inside the home on Burgan Street near Inyo Street before turning the gun on himself near Armstrong and Kings Canyon when confronted by officers.

Police had not released the identity of either person as of Sunday.

Kristi Vance Bell did not know the victim or her family and said the man shot himself near her neighbor’s fence on Saturday. Bell has lived in the neighborhood since 1998.

“I hate that people are calling this area ghetto. We are a nice, quiet neighborhood where an unimaginable murder-suicide happened. The neighborhood is usually quiet,” Bell said.

But that kind of quiet could be part of the problem, according to Charity Susnick, the director of marketing and communications for the Marjaree Mason Center.

A restraining order had just been granted for the woman on Friday, which could have triggered the violence, according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

“We’re still not talking about it enough,” Susnick said on Sunday. “Domestic violence is so much more than the physical piece. By the time it hits the news, and by the time we hear about the stories (such as) yesterday’s, that’s sort of that final breaking point.”

She said talking about what healthy relationships and boundaries look like and what red flags to look for are important.

“We need to be talking about domestic violence in our houses of worship, in our schools, in our businesses, at our kitchen tables.”

The two had a 1-year-old daughter who was not home at the time, police said.

The most dangerous time for victims of domestic violence is when they try to leave or create boundaries for themselves, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

That’s what police say may have happened to the victim in Saturday’s shooting. A judge had granted the woman’s restraining order a day before her death, where both the victim and her alleged abuser were in court, police said.

”Domestic violence truly is about power and control,” Susnick said. “So what happens is the person being abused chooses to really take a hold of that power that hasn’t been there and say ‘I’m going to make a change. I’m going to leave this relationship and put clear boundaries.”

That’s when the abuser will take action to maintain that power, she said. Susnick recommends victims create a safety plan after leaving or getting a restraining order.

“It could be things like changing your typical routine,” she said. “The person abusing knows you, they know your schedule, they know the things you do pretty well.”

Changing the locks on doors, driving a different car, straying from your normal routine and staying with friends, family or at an emergency shelter are just some ways to keep safe, she said.

Susnick also recommends contacting the Marjaree Mason Center for help obtaining a restraining order and creating a personal safety plan. The Marjaree Mason Center has a 24-hour helpline that can be reached at 559-233-4357 (HELP), and staff is available 24 hours at the center’s administrative location at 1600 M St.

Susnick said outreach and teaching the public about what domestic violence is could be the key to stopping it.

Fresno’s domestic violence call rates are about 63% higher compared to other counties in the state, and for the last quarter, calls are up by 30 to 35% she said, citing Fresno police statistics.

That could be because more people are aware that there are services to help them, or “you can look at it as we have an epidemic, and there’s no doubt that we do,” she said.