TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The effects of domestic violence can be devastating but advocates say it is preventable, and anyone in the community can help to ensure that their friends’ and families relationships remain healthy, respectful and nonviolent.
You can help someone who is in an unhealthy relationship. It’s important to let them know they are not alone.
What happened at the Boulder Creek Apartments this week shocked the community. Police said Ashley Fonseca, who also goes by Ashley Moore, was shot and killed by her boyfriend, Lawrence Moore, in a murder-suicide.
Fonseca’s kids were home when police say Moore took her life. She had posted on social media that she didn’t feel safe when Moore was around.
Rachael Gardner is the director of victim services at the YWCA. She can’t speak to this particular case, but she says abusers will threaten and manipulate you.
“There could be financial abuse, financial dependency, gaslighting,” said Rachel Gardner, the director of victim services at the YWCA. “It’s not been them, it’s you, you’re trippin’, you’re crazy, you got problems, you need counseling.”
In Lucas County alone, law enforcement agencies responded to more than 6,400 domestic violence calls last year.
Gardner says be aware of the red flags, including the following:
- hitting, pushing or grabbing
- putting a partner down
- a destructive temper
- love bombing, or excessive displays of affection or pressuring you to move the relationship forward too fast
- isolation of the victim
- lying to make the abuser look good
“Knowing those early red flags, and then having conversations that are supportive, like ‘whatever you want to do, I always have your back but I have some concerns so would you be open to talking about it?’”
Gardner says there are numerous places victims can reach out to for help like the family and child abuse prevention center and the YWCA.
“Our response as an advocate is always going to be: what’s the priority of the person that’s calling? What do they want to see happen? We’re not going to be prescriptive and like ‘okay you should do this to leave.’ It’s going to be. What’s the most important thing to you and how can we help you be safe as possible?”
If you need help, you can contact the following organizations:
- YWCA https://www.ywcanwo.org/
- Ohio Domestic Violence Network https://www.odvn.org/
- Family & Child Abuse Prevention https://www.fcapc.org/
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-06-27 17:45:00
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