The perp:
Posted on 05/15/2008 11:26:25 AM PDT by batter
Violence seems to have surrounded both the birth and death of 1-year-old Jessica Perez.
Her mother, Charity Van Leeuwen, says ex-husband Peter Perez treated her much like a prisoner during her pregnancy - forcing her to stay inside a home with black curtains and heavily tinted windows and threatening her with what he would do to her if she reported any abuse to police.
One of the few times she says she was allowed outside was for the birth of her daughter. But even then she and her family claim Perez came to her hospital room with a gun and threatened to kill her.
The child was discovered dead Monday, apparently shot to death by her father. Officers also found the bodies of 28-year-old Tracie Williamson, her 10-year-old daughter, Linzie, and Perez himself inside the home. Police say Perez shot the three in the South Salt Lake home before turning the gun on himself.
"I wish he should have left the kids alone," Charity Van Leeuwen said Wednesday. "He should have just done it to himself."
Both families say Perez mentally and physically abused Williamson and Van Leeuwen during the time each woman was in a relationship with him. Williamson, who dated him for less than one year, and Van Leeuwen, who dated him for more than five years and was only briefly married to him, were best friends, Van Leeuwen said.
Since he and Van Leeuwen were not together at the time she was pregnant, Perez made her sleep in the basement while he stayed upstairs with Williamson, Van Leeuwen said.
Perez kicked her out after Jessica's birth, she said, and she agreed to give him custody of the girl. In court documents, Van Leeuwen said Perez and Williamson had both a stable home and income and all the necessary resources to provide her daughter with "a better quality of life and living conditions" than she could.
Van Leeuwen said she was unable to care for her daughter because she had a domestic-violence case involving her mother, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she had close relationships with two registered sex offenders that put her daughter at risk.
The last time Van Leeuwen saw her daughter was on the girl's first birthday on May 3, when she was allowed to spend two hours with her. She was supposed to see her again on May 10, but Perez never showed up.
Both families say they were scared for the safety of Williamson and Van Leeuwen and had on multiple occasions contacted police. Van Leeuwen said she tried to leave Perez once before he kicked her out. The result: He slammed her against the floor and ripped out a chunk of her hair, she said.
The deaths were discovered when police went to the home, at the request of Williamson's family, to perform a welfare check - the latest in a string of such checks. On two of them, Williamson told police all was well. Monday's check was performed after her sister called police again to tell them her sister and 10-year-old niece had not been seen or heard from for at least a week.
Glen Van Leeuwen, Charity's father, said he was unable to help his daughter.
"When we tried to talk to [police] they would only give me a card and a case number," he said. "That didn't really do anything."
When he approached the YWCA in Salt Lake City, he said they turned his daughter away because the shelter was full.
Charity Van Leeuwen wound up living with family members.
"She could have been in Tracie's shoes," Glen Van Leeuwen said. "I still wish I could have intervened earlier."
But there wasn't always a clear reason to, Glen Van Leeuwen said. Perez initially seemed like a good person, he said, throwing parties and barbecues for the family. He regularly attended church services at a local church.
Van Leeuwen said she eventually found out Perez held meetings of a church he had invented in his basement both families believed was anti-Mormon.
Perez had no prior criminal history involving violence, abuse or domestic violence, South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said.
Police have said they are not looking for any other suspects in the slaying, and found a suicide note at the scene. They have not released its contents.
The perp:
“and she had close relationships with two registered sex offenders that put her daughter at risk.”
She couldn’t care for her daughter because of this? What kind of insanity is this?
* she had a domestic-violence case involving her mother
* she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
* she had close relationships with two registered sex offenders
* she had an old friend come in from out of town
* locust
family and friends knew of the abuse and danger - and did nothing. They are equally responsible -and they made the attempt to escape for the victim even more impossible, if even friends and family wouldn’t help - they had the opportunity while she was in the hospital - and did nothing.
Yes. That certainly gave me pause, too.
The poor young woman must have been totally screwed up, and then was manipulated into a menage a trois with the perp and her best friend. Ugly business. And evidently her mother also doing her part to make life miserable.
Dude, did you read the article? This was an entire community of dysfunctionals. It was a tragedy waiting to happen. Don’t go blaming the shack-up aspect - give the credit where it’s due.
This whole thing was a mess and the children involved paid for it.
Another Death by 911.
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