Source: Angel Luis García / El Nuevo Día (2012)

Wanda I. Camacho Meléndez
Wanda I. Camacho Meléndez was stabbed to death, allegedly by her ex-partner, Alexander Rodríguez Vélez, on Valentine’s Day, 2012. Wanda had repeatedly gone to the police seeking protection from her partner, who had threatened her with death and beat her on multiple occasions. On November 12, 2011 she sought assistance from the PRPD domestic violence division in Fajardo, and reported that her ex-partner had stabbed her one week earlier, on November 5, 2011. The police did not initiate any investigation into her allegations, and did not process the attack as an assault or a domestic violence crime. Instead, the police processed the case as a stalking case and a request for a protective order, which was granted to Wanda.

On November 16, 2011, Wanda returned to the police to report that Rodríguez had violated the protective order. According to press reports, she reported that he had cut the lines to her washer and dryer and called her at the hospital where she worked, telling her that he was not going to prison before he saw her dead. A PRPD officer says he consulted with the district attorney’s office, which did not find probable cause to charge Rodríguez with violating the order of protection, because a call log at the hospital did not document the call. The district attorney’s office has since told journalists that the PRPD never informed them of the previous stabbing incident.


Wanda I. Camacho Meléndez (continued)
On December 14, 2011, Rodríguez again violated the protective order by going to Wanda’s house; a neighbor was there at the time. Charges were brought against him for violating the order, but he was not taken into custody.

On February 14, 2012, Rodríguez approached Wanda after she finished buying Valentine’s Day gifts. He was wearing a GPS-tracking ankle monitor, which alerted police that he had violated the protective order yet again. Police did not follow protocols, which require them to immediately contact the domestic violence victim to alert her that her abuser had violated the order and was nearby. Rodríguez stabbed Wanda in her back, face, and abdomen, and she died of her injuries. Rodríguez has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and weapons violations, and is currently being held on $6.5 million bail.

Source: El Nuevo Día (2011)

María Margarita Ramos García
María Margarita Ramos García, the first of 30 women killed by their intimate partners in Puerto Rico in 2011. By comparison, five women were killed by their partners in Los Angeles that year—Puerto Rico and Los Angeles have almost the same population, around 3.7 million. On January 8, 2011, María was killed by her husband of over 30 years, José Cruz Martínez, while she slept. After shooting his wife in the head he took his own life.

Source: Edgar Vázquez Colón / Primera Hora (2011)

Elisa Rosa (“Elirosa”) Figueroa Pagán
Elirosa Figueroa Pagán, mother of a seven-year-old daughter, was allegedly fatally stabbed 15 times with a machete by her ex-partner, Víctor Amaro Texidor, on January 9, 2011 in the town of Patillas. Amaro also allegedly wounded Elirosa’s ex-husband in the attack.

According to press reports, Elirosa had left Amaro days earlier to reconcile with her ex-husband, who was also the father of her daughter. Amaro reportedly had been criminally charged in 2007 for violation of Puerto Rico’s Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention Law (Law 54), stemming from complaints of domestic violence filed against him by a previous girlfriend. Amaro also reportedly had an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued one month before the attack, for failing to appear at a hearing for charges of aggression against Elirosa’s ex-husband.

Source: El Nuevo D�a (2011)

Jennifer Toro Hurtado
Jennifer Toro Hurtado, mother of three, was shot in the head by her estranged husband, Nelson Crespo Feliciano, in front of her three daughters, ages three, five, and seven..

Jennifer had obtained a temporary order of protection against Crespo Feliciano in July 2011. On September 22, 2011, Judge Rafael Ramos charged Crespo Feliciano with violating the protective order on account of his continued stalking of his estranged wife, and ordered him to be placed under electronic surveillance by means of an ankle monitor. However, Crespo Feliciano failed to comply with the order and he was not outfitted with the ankle monitoring system.

Jennifer sought an extension of the protective order, but a judge delayed the case twice.

Crespo Feliciano was arrested for failure to comply with the order to submit to electronic monitoring, but was soon released on a $5,000 bond. Jennifer was not notified of her husband’s release, and he shot her the day after his release. At the time of the shooting he still had not been outfitted with an electronic ankle monitor.

Source: Olimpo Ramos / Primera Hora (2011)

Rosaura Sánchez Cruz
According to press reports, on May 6, 2011, Eduardo Feliciano Alvarez scaled eight stories of Rosaura’s condominium building, climbing up the balconies, to break into the Aguadilla apartment where his 28-year-old ex-partner slept with their two children, ages two and six. They had been partners since she was 12 years old. Feliciano shot and killed Rosaura in front of their children as she tried to flee down a hallway, injuring their two-year-old son, who was in her arms. Feliciano subsequently committed suicide with the same gun he used to kill his ex-partner. Feliciano reportedly had been charged with domestic violence in 2010, stemming from a complaint filed by a previous partner.

Source: Olimpo Ramos / Primera Hora (2011)

Eulalia Texidor Ortiz
Eulalia Texidor Ortiz, mother of three and an English teacher who was on the verge of retiring, was killed by her estranged husband of 30 years, Teddy Lugo Almodóvar, 55, from whom she had been separated for two years. On July 17, 2011, Lugo Almodóvar shot her 10 times while their four-year-old grandchild watched television in the next room, then took his own life. Lugo Almodóvar had reportedly threatened and physically abused Texidor Ortiz on previous occasions, and their daughter had reportedly filed a complaint with the PRPD against him for abuse of her mother, but later withdrew the complaint.

Source: Vanessa Serra Díaz / Primera Hora (2011)

Aida Cruz Ivette Ortiz
Aida Cruz Ivette Ortiz, amother of two who worked as a secretary at a hospital clinic for children and adolescents, was allegedly stabbed to death by her partner Hipólito Sevilla Sevilla, 63, on April 23, 2011 in the town of Gurabo. According to Aida’s relatives, she had filed complaints with the PRPD against Sevilla for domestic violence in the past. Sevilla, who worked as a security guard, reportedly had previously threatened Aida on multiple occasions, and had chased her with a gun during an earlier incident.

Source: Andre Kang / Primera Hora (2011)

Sandra Villafañe Silva
Sandra Villafañe Silva, mother of two, was stabbed 50 times by her husband of 20 years, Alberto Bracero Morales, on March 16, 2011 at the gas station that they operated together. They had been separated for three months at the time of the killing. Bracero Morales committed suicide after killing his wife.


Vicmaris Pérez Rivera
On October 6, 2011, Municipal Police Sergeant Elías Abolafía Morales reportedly arrived at the house of his most recent ex-partner, Vicmaris Pérez Rivera. Abolafía Morales shot their 1½-year-old baby in the head, killing her, shot Vicmaris in the neck and shoulders, gravely injuring her, and then took his own life by shooting himself in the head. According to press reports, Abolfía Morales had a documented record of domestic violence. In 2008, his former ex-partner filed a complaint alleging that he psychologically abused her and their oldest daughter. In December 2010, his former ex-partner filed another complaint, alleging that Abolfía Morales emotionally abused their youngest daughter, then five years old, by threatening to “kill her mom and her new boyfriend.” In response to this complaint, the Municipal Police Department of Arecibo reportedly disarmed Abolfía Morales and conducted a two-week administrative investigation, ultimately clearing him of the charges, rearming him, and not pursing further action. Local prosecutors also reportedly declined to press charges of domestic violence. Four months later, Abolfía was promoted to sergeant.