Tennessee ranks in top 5 for rate at which men kill women in domestic-related homicides

On Saturday evening, Nashville police found 42-year-old Tonya Davis in the front entryway of her home on Southside Court with a gunshot wound to the head.

Police said Davis' husband, Cleveland Lamont Bell, later admitted during an interview with detectives that he shot his wife during a "heated argument."

The homicide is a reminder of a painful Tennessee statistic. In the latest survey by the Violence Policy Center, Tennessee ranks fourth in the country for the rate at which men kill women in domestic-related homicides. Louisiana ranked third, Nevada ranked second and Alaska came in first place.

"This is really an epidemic in our community which is why the YWCA helps folks find safety," Allison Cantway said.

Cantway manages a domestic violence shelter.

Saturday's killing marked the 37th criminal homicide so far in Nashville this year. At this same time last year, the city had 49 killings.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported that of the 77,846 domestic violence cases in 2017, a little more than 70 percent of the victims were women.

Nashville Predator Austin Watson was charged with domestic assault earlier this month, stemming from an incident with his girlfriend at a Williamson County gas station.

Watson is due in court on Thursday for a hearing on the misdemeanor charge.

Another high-profile domestic case in the city took place in November, when a man killed his wife then turned the gun on himself in their East Nashville home.

Police investigators say 61-year-old Wolfgang Blair shot and killed 56-year-old Stephanie Jackson as the woman prepared to leave their house and move out of state.

The Metro Nashville Police Department is working to stop domestic violence homicides through the lethality assessment protocol.

When officers respond to domestic situations, they have victims respond to a series of questions to determine if they are at risk of being killed.

"Has she been strangled? Has she had a weapon held against her? And if certain boxes are checked, they will put that victim with our crisis line," Michelle Mowery Johnson, with the Young Women's Christian Association in Nashville, said.

Johnson says their crisis hotline gets more than 6,000 calls a year.

"It is a crisis in this community, and we all have to work together to recognize the signs."

If you or a loved one is suffering from an abusive relationship, you can contact the YWCA domestic violence hotline at (615) 242-1199 or (800) 334-4628.