Experts advocate for education, greater efforts against domestic violence
Tierne Ewing
Kevin Ewing
A photo of Michael Cwiklinski and Dalia Sabae from Sabae’s Facebook page
The shooting deaths of a Canonsburg woman, her unborn child and a local police officer at the hands of the woman’s husband is the latest local case that highlights the need for greater efforts aimed at preventing domestic violence and holding abusers accountable, said local experts.
“We need to start preventing it,” said Lisa Hannum, director of operations for Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Washington. “We need to start saying it’s unacceptable. Across the board.”
Officers arrived at 3:19 a.m. Thursday at 120 Woodcrest Ave. in Canonsburg after a report of a domestic situation from an adjacent duplex. When they arrived, police said they were ambushed and immediately fired upon. Canonsburg Officer Scott Bashioum, 52, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Officer James Saieva was wounded but in fair condition Friday.
Police said Michael Cwiklinski, 47, the suspected shooter, and his estranged wife, Dalia Sabae, 28, were found dead inside the home after police made entry later Thursday morning. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco ruled Cwiklinski died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Sabae, who was pregnant, of a homicide.
The incident came in the wake of the deaths of Tierne Ewing, 48, and Kevin Ewing, 47, who fatally shot his wife before taking his own life. They were found dead at a West Finley farm Aug. 30.
Experts point to societal norms as encouraging violence in boys and men.
“I think the skills you need to solve problems are not taught to guys,” said Michael Crabtree, a professor of psychology at Washington & Jefferson College, who spoke in general terms and not about specific cases. “Most boys are not socialized that way – how you can solve things without force.”
Hannum said people shouldn’t ask questions about the victim of domestic violence, such as why she stayed in an unhealthy relationship, and should instead focus on the perpetrators, who typically “get exactly what they want” from their behavior.
“The individual who is abusive typically has certain personality traits,” she said. “They’re manipulative and controlling … They always blame someone else – it’s someone else’s fault.”
Court records show Kevin Ewing and Cwiklinski as both having a history of allegations of violence and abuse against their wives.
At the time he killed his wife, Ewing was free on bond after being criminally charged and subjected to a protection-from-abuse order in connection with her kidnapping and torture from June 26 to July 8.
He’d also been convicted in 2001 of previous PFA violations in multiple incidents involving his wife.
Cwiklinski had been the subject of two petitions for PFA orders Sabae filed in the last year, alleging a history of abuse that included strangulation and rape. One of them was filed Oct. 11 and was still in effect at the time of Thursday’s killings.
“We have to take (domestic violence) more seriously,” said Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman, who prosecutes domestic violence cases in Washington County.
She has advocated for higher bond, penalties for those found to have violated PFAs and effective treatment for those ordered by a court to get it.
“It has to be the right kind of treatment,” she said. “Anger-management classes – they don’t work. It’s part of it, but there are other therapies out there for domestic violence abusers.”
Crabtree said anger-management can help those with anger issues evaluate their own thought processes, but he encouraged use of individual counseling over class-style sessions.
Hannum highlighted programs such as the national Coaching Boys Into Men campaign, which encourages coaches to use their influence to teach athletes healthy relationship skills and ways to resolve problems without violence.
Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania offers free presentations in schools – aimed at teaching younger children skills including communication and conflict resolution and, for older students, lessons on subjects such as warning signs in relationships and how to get help for someone in an abusive relationship.
The group also offers training on domestic violence available to employers, civic groups and other organizations.
Clingerman pointed to the passage last month of the law that made strangulation, now a felony, which experts consider a warning sign that the victim could be at risk of homicide by their partner, separate from simple assault, a misdemeanor, as it was usually previously charged in criminal cases, as one sign of progress.
Hannum also thinks “we’re making progress. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago and I’d turn on the news, they wouldn’t even say the words ‘domestic violence.’ It feels like people are more willing to understand.”