Resident urges West Haven to act after recent nearby intimate‑partner homicides

Vanessa Suarez, a New Haven resident, told the West Haven City Council on Feb. 24 that the region has seen multiple recent intimate‑partner homicides and pressed city officials to take concrete action to prevent further deaths.

Suarez said she attended vigils for victims near West Haven and New Haven and cited the deaths of Hailey Miller, 19, and a 2‑year‑old, Tenaj Fletcher, both recently murdered. “How many more deaths, how many more women and children is it gonna take for this municipality…to take action on this issue in a real way,” she asked the council, urging establishment of committees, surveys and use of federal pandemic funds to create local services for victims.

Suarez said Connecticut averages roughly 14 intimate‑partner homicides of women per year and warned proposed cuts in federal funding streams for victim services would reduce available supports. She criticized what she described as gaps in investigations and services and urged municipal leaders to prioritize survivors’ safety.

No formal motion or council action followed during the meeting. Later in the meeting Mayor Doreen DeBoer addressed public concern and described a police debriefing following the recent tragic incident, saying city leaders and the police department are “horrified and heartbroken” and that she had checked whether there had been prior contact with the household; she said there had not been prior contact in that case. Council members thanked the mayor for clarifying facts and urged continued attention to victim support.

Action: The remarks were part of the public comment period; council members did not vote on new domestic‑violence programs or funding that evening. Suarez requested that the city form committees, survey residents and consider using available federal funds to expand local services for survivors.