Communications Technology: Corporate Responsibility in and Outside of the Workplace

Last week at the residence of Jennifer Rutledge located in Lakeland, Florida she nearly lost her life, literally at the hands of Robert Rutledge her husband.

Apparently, Robert is employed by Verizon as a repair technician/cable splicer. After illegally listening in on his wife's phone conversation with an unknown man, he disconnects their conversation. In a fit of rage he storms into the marital residence confronting his wife. Throwing her on the kitchen floor with a rope in hand he strangles her, unconscious. According to police reports when she comes too, he grabs her again and she breaks out of his grip and runs to a neighbors contacting police. Polk County Sheriff's arrested Rutledge charging him with Obstruction of Justice, attempted murder, interception by communication, domestic battery by strangulation (wife has some rope burn marks around her neck) and obstruction of justice.

She is fortunate to be alive. Instead of omitting remarks about Robert and "what a good guy he is" and his behavior is "out of character" they are inappropriately incorporated into the story. Good people with whom we work, attend church, are our neighbors or with whom we are related are "in character" where you cannot see them. Behind the front door of their homes an abuser threatens, beats and controls the victim. To the world they, the cowardly abuser are amazing individuals.

Robert Rutledge used the tools of his trade to track his wife. His tracking and stalking of her goes beyond merely intercepting her calls, he also followed her every move via a Verizon cell phone (part of a perk to employees and their families) and GPS tracking, including her computer.

What the article misses is tools that can and should be incorporated both for customers and those receiving perks as a family member of one of the nation's largest communication corporation, Verizon. The communications giant has in place an amazing program and foundation for victims of abuse and stalking. But, this is the perfect example of a corporation missing the mark as it relates to employee assistance services and safety among its' own "family." No doubt there are others just like the Rutledge's right under the companies nose.

Rutledge had the tools as many offenders do at their disposal. It really didn't matter where he worked, technology plays a major part in intimate partner violence and homicides. The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and video is the new prescription for victims across the county. More information on the technology is provided in the news story below.

Solution

Domestic violence and stalking is a crime. Yet, it is still treated as a 'private family matter' within communities and major corporations across the country. A person faces automatic arrest, no questions asked when they get behind the wheel and drive drunk. Because it is against the law. Also against the law is domestic violence. It is a crime to threaten bodily harm or beat a person. The offender too cowardly to start a random act of violence in public, gets away with controlling abusive behaviors behind closed doors because there is no real consequences to actions, unless they kill.

Attitudes must change from Corporate America on down to rural small town populations, domestic violence is a crime. It is against the law. In America, at least eight women are murdered everyday. With budget cuts law enforcement can only do so much. Communities must take a more active role in their communities, including the church. The need to stop the bloodshed is overwhelming, but not impossible.

Holidays will also trigger events that will no doubt bring forth more tragedies as estranged parents decide who will have the kids on what day and for how long. The courts both civil and criminal will be a revolving door for court orders of protection, child support, and financial matters fueling emotions of anger and resentment surely adding to the epidemic of intimate partner homicide.

Below is an important solution currently available on Amazon in the book "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships. Staying many steps ahead of an abusive individual can mean the difference between life and death. Don't wait. Time's Up!

I am hoping Verizon will reach out to me to discuss ways in which to combat this epidemic. I can be reached at murphymilano@gmail.com

By: AMY VITRANO

MYRTLE BEACH, SC --

A study out by the FBI in October said South Carolina ranks number one in the nation for violent crimes. One type of crime that's on the rise in this state is domestic violence.

According to the South Carolina State Attorney General's website, an average of 33 women are killed each year in South Carolina as a result of domestic violence. Most of the time, they occur behind closed doors.

But Susan Murphy-Milano hopes to give victims everywhere a chance to be 10 steps ahead of their abuser. She never wanted to be a domestic violence advocate. She had a great life as an investment banker until it all came crashing down one night in 1989.

"My mom was a long time victim of abuse,” Milano explained. “My father was a Chicago violent crimes detective. He murdered her and then took his own life. I vowed to change the world."

Milano has taken baby steps to do so over the last 20 years, working with women one on one to get out of volatile relationships. She's even written book on the subject.

Milano plans to take her knowledge mainstream with a new phone application for an evidentiary abuse affidavit (EAA).

"We have something called Crawford vs. Washington across the country and all these cases, when a woman goes missing, you don't know what she said,” said Milano. “You don't know about the offender. So in a case like that, had she prepared an affidavit, which is almost like a will: it talks about the incidences, gives her date of birth, her social security number, gives his information... So for the first time you have in the victim's words what's going on. It's not hear-say."

"I don't think in any way what happens inhibits me from having a normal life, a happy life. I try to learn from there mistakes so I make sure I don't get into a situation like my mom did," said Tina Abassi, who lost her mother at 15 to domestic violence.

Farah Abassi was killed by her father, Asghar Abassi Eliderani, at the family's convenient store in Socastee in 2008. It was the end of a childhood that Abassi says seemed normal.

"I don't remember growing up and thinking anything was wrong cause it's all I knew,” said Abassi. So if you grow up thinking that your parents fighting and not sleeping in the same bed, arguing and having your dad hurt your mom is normal, you don't think you're growing up wrong. You just think, 'Oh they're just fighting.’"

"We don't look at domestic violence as anything other than a private matter,” Milano said. “How many private matters are they going to continue to scream in silence?"

Milano created a new app that will allow a victim to record a video and fill out documents. They can explain the abuse and can include photos and information police could use in case if something happens. Milano hopes it will also give prosecutors evidence for conviction.

"So in her words, it shows that when somebody does this, it's premeditated,” she said. “So a lot of these cases individual offenders who go to trial and say, 'I was unhinged. It was a crime of passion.' Pardon me, but bullshit it wasn't. It's not a crime of passion; it's premeditated and they think they can get away with it."

Asghar Abassi Eliaderani was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2010, and received five years in prison as a sentence for killing his wife; a sentence that will be up within a year because Eliaderani is in a work release program.

"If she [Farah Abassi] had the EAA, it could have been something discreet that she could have filmed, that she could have said to know that incase anything ever happened, her voice would be heard,” said Abassi. “That would have given her peace of mind because she was so stressed out."

"You've got budget cuts across the country,” said Milano. “So to have this technology means that you're going to reduce the burden of the State for prosecutors or district attorneys in going in and doing this. If she does this, half their job's over with. If she winds up missing, it’s an easy arrest. You've effective a case that you wouldn't have had."

The new phone application is set to débuted on December 25^th, but the information is available to all victims in a book written by Susan Murphy-Milano titled Time’s Up. Click here to Milano’s website, where the book can be purchased.

If you are in a dangerous relationship and would like help getting out, the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault can help. Contact them at 1-800-260-9293. You can also contact Milano directly through her email, murphymilano@gmail.com.

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writesproviding commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime.

http://murphymilanojournal.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-tool-provides-victims-of-domestic.html

Visit www.imaginepublicity.com to schedule an event, training, workshop or conference.

Inviting the Turkey From Your Life For Thanksgiving Dinner?

by Susan Murphy-Milano (www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com)

It is the holidays and you were sure that your relationship would last until the end of time, but it did not sustain. However, those emotions still tied to the person remain, and you are teetering after that warm and fuzzy holiday text message or phone call you just received. You have all but wiped away the memory of the last time you were together. Perhaps you were blamed or hurt by a circumstance or a situation that you were made to feel was your fault. Finally, you had enough and began moving forward with your life. You worked hard to untie those emotional strings and the memories you once shared.

Holiday or nor not, how many more times are you going to allow a person with whom you were in a relationship to make excuses for their outbursts? Either through yelling at you because the boss got on their back, or there is not enough money through the end of the month to buy groceries and somehow your partner is blaming you? The house is in shambles, the kids have been up all night with the flu and you are whacked across the face by your “loving partner” because things are not the way ” THEY” expect them. Your partner informs you, similar to placing you on notice, that you have had this conversation before.

On the phone that warm and fuzzy feeling returns as he speaks to you so tenderly and warm. Your knees buckle a bit as the familiar scent of a toxic tune plays in their voice. He reminds you of all the other holidays you shared and the importance of family, knowing what will pull you back into him with his toxic sweet talk. He says “can’t we try again for the sake of what we had or the kids?” And then he adds a pinch of “baby it’s the holidays,” and your response should be yes it is, “happy holidays to you” thank you for calling.

The holiday turkey you prepare should be the only one in attendance this year at your dinner table, and not sitting in the chair next to you.

Remember don’t invite the pathological live turkey to show up at your door for the holidays.

The Institute for Relational Harm Reduction provides information, resources, services, products and research on issues related to dangerous and pathological love relationships. For more information click HERE.

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writes providing commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime.

Common Denominator Leads to Murder

Ninety-five percent of girlfriends, wives and mothers who “suddenly” vanish, or are found murdered, share a common thread. The last person to have any contact, person of interest, or the individual with whom they were romantically attached, is involved in the crime.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out where a trail of blood goes, cold or not, it almost always points to the person in their life. There are a few exceptions to the rule of “who done it,” but those cases are far and few in between. As an example, when Amy Henslee vanished from her home in Hartford, MI, on January 24, 2011, the world of social media decided her husband, James Henslee, must have had something to do with her sudden disappearance. Four days later, the world was wrong, they did not have the facts. Amy Henslee was not a victim of anything but an acquaintance’s obsession resulting in a double homicide by Jr. Lee Beebe, a cousin to the husband, who also murdered his on again off again girlfriend, Tonya Howarth. Both women were discovered in a shallow grave by searcher Jamie Jones of the Missing You Foundation. This case was the exception.

Women like Stacy Peterson, IL; Renee Pernice, KS; Jacque Waller, MS; Hope Meek, OK; Patty Vaughan, TX; Susan Powell, Utah; all still missing, and the prime suspects, their husbands. They had vibrant productive lives, suddenly labeled in a crime file cabinet or drawer, opened when a lead is followed up or a family member is calling into police headquarters for updates and possible answers. The answers are easy, having more than circumstantial evidence, is the issue.

There are few experts in the field of intimate partner perpetrated crimes. The hesitancy to look at a husband or boyfriend as a suspect can depend on the size of the town, available manpower, prosecutor’s office and investigative skills, among other issues.

In my opinion, the case of Sandra Travis is not a complicated case to investigate and make an arrest. Sandra was living in a violent marriage when she disappeared July 31, 2005 from Mayfield, Kentucky, a rural area near the borders of Illinois and Tennessee. Sandra took a lot of punches over the years from her husband, Bobby Travis, probably another man who treated his wife as a piece of property, there to do his bidding, no caring for the way she felt. Someone needs to look under the trailer frome where she disappeared that evening. Maybe the Illinois State police can over ride the prosecutor who does not have much experience in obtaining a search warrant.

Another case is Renee Pagel, killed on August 5, 2006. She was a grade school teacher and a registered nurse. According to friends, Renee feared for her safety from her estranged husband. As many women say when they are married to an abusive spouse, "if something happens to me, make sure people know it was not an acciden," and yet, what I label as “Mayberry” police, have yet to arrest Michael Pagel. This is shear ignorance on the part of the investigators. Her life was silenced as she was ending the marriage; her husband’s response, in my expert opinion, was ending her life.

Sometimes it can take years for a family, even without locating the remains of their loved one to secure answers, when an arrest is finally made in a case. When Venus Stewart, (MI) vanished from her parents in April of 2010, there was only person who was responsible for her abrupt vanishing, her husband, Douglas. Earlier this year without a body, he was prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison. The family continues to search for Venus.

My hope is for everyone waiting for that unexpected phone call of a clue, tip or an arrest to remain strong and hopeful that answers in their loved ones cases will be forthcoming.

While these women's lives did not hold meaning to the person they were with, they did have great importance to many others whose faces you do not see or voices you do not hear because they are continuously searching and doing what they can to bring their loved ones home.

The month of October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Intimate partner violence occurs 365 days a year, 7 days a week. Perhaps doing something for those whom you know are in a rocky or violent relationship is a start to how you can help others.

Providing information on what you need to do if you or someone you know is in a potentially violent relationship is done with the hope of saving lives. My work in the area of intimate partner violence prevention  is a direct result of not being able to save my own mother back in 1989, killed by her police detective husband prior to committing suicide.

If you are in a relationship that has a history of violence, simply mustering up the courage to confront the person and say it is over, without the proper tools, can cost you, your life!

One of the major reasons women stay in abusive relationships is fear. They are afraid of what will happen to them and their children if they leave. Sadly, their fears are often justified; statistics show that a woman is at the greatest risk for injury when she announces her plans or leaves an abusive relationship. The book "Time's Up A Guide on How To Survive and Abusive and Stalking Relationship" is the prescription, if you will, that every person must obtain before they announce they are leaving. Below is an example from Chapter 4, one of many unique tools provided in the book. It is available on Amazon.com, or you can purchase via e-book or on a cd. If you have questions, the email address is: timesupforjustice@gmail.com

Before you decide that you have had enough and are ending the relationship, create for yourself the "Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" and video (shown below).

If you do nothing else, please take one important step that if something does happen to you, if you do vanish like Stacy Peterson, Vensus Stewart, Rachel Anderson, Susan Powell, Lisa Stebic, or arefoundmurdered like Monica Beresford-Redmond, Franki Jacobson, Renee Pagel, Summer Inman,Kelly Rothwell and others where the person responsible has gotten away with murder that your voice and record of the abuse will be captured and recorded. Do it for you friends, family and loved ones. Do it for your children. Do it for you!

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit by Susan Murphy Milano from the Book "Time's Up"from Courage Network on Vimeo.

If you have questions, the email address is: timesupforjustice@gmail.com

This book doesn't merely discuss when you should leave or why you should leave, it tells you HOW you should leave. The book has step-by-step instructions how to covertly make a plan, set-up a safe escape, deal with financial issues, and the paperwork. Susan even takes you line-by-line through the process, the forms, the legal issues...she takes you by the hand, and, believe me, when you are being terrorized and you are an basket case, you don't need vague ideas, you need specific instructions. TIME'S UP can save your life and your sanity. If you need to get out, get this book before you make a mistake that could be fatal. It is money well spent.

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Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is a specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies and high risk cases and available for personal consultations through the Institute. She is also part of the team at Management Resources Limited of New York.

Susan is the author of "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships,"Moving out, Moving on, and Defending Out Lives. Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire.

If you would like to schedule Susan Murphy Milano for training and interviews, please contact:ImaginePublicity PO BOX 14946 Surfside Beach, SC 29587 Phone: 843.808.0859 email- contact@imaginepublicity.com