Court Order Can't Stop Domestic Violence -- Everett Woman's Slaying Reflects Shortcomings Of Protection Program

EVERETT - Gina Feiker became a statistic last week - one of an estimated 4,000 murder victims nationwide stemming from domestic violence each year.

And though the 21-year-old Everett woman tried to protect herself and her two children with a domestic-violence protection order, her death illustrates the frailties of a legal system that tries - and often fails - to keep abuse victims safe.

Feiker was sitting on the floor of her house Nov. 14 next to her 2-year-old daughter when her estranged husband, Todd, broke into the house, pointed a rifle at her head and pulled the trigger. He later killed himself.

Todd Feiker's police record consisted mostly of traffic offenses. He had never been arrested for the frequent beatings he gave his wife during their marriage.

Gina Feiker obtained a protection order about a month before she was killed that barred her husband from contacting her or her children. But at an Oct. 24 hearing in court to extend the temporary order, neither Feiker showed up, and the protection order lapsed.

Two days earlier, Todd Feiker had ignored the order when he broke into the house they had

shared in the 2500 block of Walnut Street and started breaking furniture. He told a neighbor he would kill anyone who came through the door.

Todd Feiker got a 16-day jail sentence for traffic offenses, but the charge of violating the protection order was dropped.

Even the Everett detective investigating the case, Jim Stillman, said that in the Feikers' case a permanent protection order wouldn't have made much difference. Judging from notes he left behind, Todd Feiker had already planned the murder-suicide.

Yet more women are turning to the courts to protect themselves against domestic violence. Snohomish County Superior Court records show that 13 percent of the civil cases filed last year were for domestic-violence protection orders - a fourfold increase from 1985.

Many of them end up in the county's protection-order assistance office. Coordinator Annette Tupper said the order isn't a cure-all, but one step in the process of stopping the abuse.

``So many people want to apply for a protection order and have it solve everything,'' she said. ``But that's just not realistic.''

A protection order isn't a guarantee of security, but it can buy time while the victim considers other options - changing the locks, seeking a divorce, moving into an emergency shelter or even across the country.

It also can tip off police that a continuing pattern of violence has been established by the courts. And, victim advocates say, a protection order may make victims more credible to police.

``Police are more likely to respond and are more likely to vigorously pursue it if they see a restraining order,'' said Merril Cousin, executive director of Stop Abuse, an Everett program assisting abuse victims.

But Stillman doesn't believe police take domestic violence more seriously based on that piece of paper. By law, police are required to make an arrest if there is any evidence of an assault.

``With law enforcement, domestic violence is a never-ending story. Police become frustrated if they return to a situation over and over and over,'' he said. ``There are places (victims) can go, there are people that can help them, but they have to reach out.''

In Gina Feiker's case, she still saw her husband even after the protection order was issued, and she was with him in a bar the night she was killed.

``It has to be followed up on and has to be enforced by the battered party,'' Stillman said.

But the victim sometimes risks more violent abuse by asking for outside help.

``When the abuser is arrested and jailed for a short time, it can be a real fuse,'' said Sara Reed, a Stop Abuse counselor. ``It's a small percentage that dare to get outside help.''

Domestic violence at its worst ends in murder. But many more victims quietly endure abuse for years. In Washington, 12,000 abused women and their children were provided with emergency shelter last year. Twice that many were turned away.

In Snohomish County, sheriff's deputies responded to 28 percent more domestic violence reports last year than in 1988.

``I know anybody that makes it to the door, it takes a lot of courage to get there,'' Tupper said. ``It's pretty stark when you look at where it can end up.''