Intimate partner killings in Tarrant County rose to 13 last year, and none of the victims had sought a protective order

Thirteen people in Tarrant County were killed by an intimate partner in 2025, the second straight yearly increase and more than twice the number counted in 2023, according to the county's annual domestic violence fatality review.

The figure is two higher than the previous year's, the Fort Worth Report reported Thursday. None of the 13 victims had filed for a protective order or contacted The Archway, a domestic violence nonprofit that is one of the review's main partners, before they were killed.

"Our goal is to go a 12-month period with zero intimate partner homicides, and sadly, our community is moving away from the goal," Kathryn Jacob, The Archway's president and CEO, told the Report. She said responsibility for the deaths rests with the people who commit the violence.

Who does the review

The Tarrant County Intimate Partner Violence Adult Fatality Review Team is led by the district attorney's office and includes police departments and nonprofits such as The Archway. It releases its findings each October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with the stated aim of finding gaps in how agencies respond and improving coordination among them to prevent deaths.

Among the findings for 2025:

• Seven of the offenders had faced earlier criminal charges involving intimate partner violence.
• Seventeen children connected to the cases lost one or both parents.
• Strangulation remained a warning sign, and reviewers noted a closer link than before between stalking and intimate partner killings.

Assistant District Attorney Allenna Bangs said knowing those patterns helps prosecutors flag risky cases early. When stalking is involved, she said, the office may ask a court for tighter bond conditions, or push to return someone to custody if they violate them.

"Here in the criminal justice system, we are going to be a little bit reactive when a crime gets filed," Bangs said. The review, she said, is meant to find where services fall short "so that this potentially doesn't result in a homicide."

Bangs also said homicides overall in Fort Worth and Arlington appear to be falling significantly in 2026.

Getting help

Jacob, who also serves on Gov. Greg Abbott's Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force, said that group's early work points to four warning signs before a domestic violence killing: strangulation, stalking, access to a gun and pregnancy. She said many victims in past reviews had never used a shelter, and that knowing confidential help exists can save lives.

People experiencing intimate partner violence can contact their local police department or call The Archway's 24-hour hotline at 1-877-701-7233.

Sources

fortworthreport.org