Family members say the Aurora woman stabbed to death over the weekend was killed by her boyfriend.
The family says Mireya Ramirez started dating the suspect, who they call Romero, two or three months before her death. Ramirez's mom June Simpson told Denver7 that the suspect had problems controlling his anger.
"He was a very jealous guy. He would grab her and leave her bruises on her arms," Simpson explained.
She says he'd been aggressive before and Simpson herself saw the boyfriend yell at her daughter.
"Know the person who you're dealing with. In his instance, he would change his names, so we didn't really know who he was."
The Aurora Police chief says the officer who killed this man likely saved lives. Chief Metz urged domestic violence victims to seek help.
"In my 31 years of law enforcement experience I've unfortunately seen a lot of domestic violence-related homicides. And in most of those situations it's very rare that there hasn't been prior violence between the victim and the abuser," he said.
This is how to get help:
- Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- SafeHouse Denver
- Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence 303-831-9632
- SafeHouse Denver 303-318-9989
- Anti-Violence Project (gay and lesbian services) 303-852-5094
- Project PAVE (youth) 303 322-2382
- Domestic Violence Initiative for Women with Disabilities 303-839-5510
- Dove Advocating Services for abused deaf women and children 303-831-7874
- Latina Safehouse 303-433-4470 www.latinasafehouse.org
- Muslim Family Services 303-298-8776
- Project Safeguard (protective orders) 303-863-7233
- Healing from the Heart (youth) 303-733-1176
- Denver Children's Advocacy Center 303-825-3850
- Colorado Bar Association -- Family Violence Program
- Victim Services 2000 (VS 2000 features an on-line directory of services and resources)
National resources and information:
- Office for Victims of Crime
- National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE
- Helpline for Child Abuse: 1800-942-HELP
- National Center for Victims of Crime: 703-276-2880
- National Crime Prevention Council: 202-466-6272
- Domestic Violence Handbook: www.domesticviolence.org
- CASA -Center Against Spouse Abuse: http://casa-stpete.org
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: www.ncadv.org
