Friday, November 20, 2009

DV Murder Suspect Arrested in Decatur

A man suspected of stabbing his wife to death Thursday morning in Athens was captured at his mother’s house in Decatur, reportedly after a standoff that involved the DeKalb County police SWAT team.

William Darwin Joseph Studstill, 30, stabbed 33-year-old Stephanie Ann Studstill several times with a butcher knife sometime in the early morning, then drove to his mother's house in Decatur, where he called 911 about 7 a.m. to report he had just "killed his whole family" in Athens, according to police.

Athens-Clarke police entered the couple's home in Clarke Gardens Apartment on Carriage Court off Barnett Shoals Road and found only one victim, Stephanie Studstill. The couple didn't have children and no relatives lived with them, police said, and the only other family member in the area was the victim's sister.

It's worth noting that, in this article about the stabbing, the Athens police spokesperson feels the need to point out that the victim "refused to press charges" for an earlier domestic violence arrest when it is, in fact, law enforcement's job to press charges in order to keep the victim safe. When using evidence-based prosecution, victims aren't even required to testify to get a conviction. How can we question why victims choose not to call the police when even the police place the burden of safety and accountability on the woman.

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