UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The man responsible for killing his wife in Clermont County has been found dead, according to investigators in Union Township.
On August 24, police were called to the 4000 block of Powderhorn Drive around 9 p.m. for the report of an unconscious person. That person was later pronounced dead by the Clermont County Coroner's Office.
Union Township police identified the victim as 55-year-old Katrina Pratt. They said that 55-year-old William Pratt, her husband, was responsible for her murder.
According to investigators, William's body was found in a home in Fairfield on Saturday. Fairfield police said they were attempting to locate a person at 86 Applewood Drive when they heard a single shot fired inside the home. When a SWAT team entered the home, they found William dead.
Investigators said before William's body was discovered, he confessed to killing Katrina and was on the run.
Court records show William was arrested earlier this summer on domestic violence charges against his wife. He was supposed to be in court two days before police found Katrina's body but he never showed up.
"When we fail, we just keep less women from disclosing because they read the newspaper too," said Ruth Downing, co-founder of Forensic Nursing Network. "There are so many ways that we could've kept this woman safe, she reached out, many women do not reach out because they're always weighing what's the risk, keep my mouth shut or disclose it."
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Downing is a forensic nurse who is trained to recognize the injuries caused by strangulation and document the evidence. Forensic Nursing Network's mission is to provide better health care to domestic violence and sexual assault victims. She fought for twenty years to make strangulation a felony in Ohio.
Prosecutors never charged William Pratt with strangulation, only domestic violence. Court documents in the case say he "grabbed the flat sheet and wrapped it around her neck."
"It is the last warning shot," Downing said. "If a woman is strangled one time by her partner she has an increased 750% chance that he will kill her. These are serious, dangerous people and once we know that, we can take it seriously."
The YWCA of Greater Cincinnati has operators on hand 24 hours a day to help survivors and their kids get out of abusive situations.
"If there's no guarantee that the person will stay out of the home then they really have to prepare themselves for what's to come next," said Courtney Harschaoui, YWCA of Greater Cincinnati's assistant director of community and court services. "Unfortunately cases like this just highlight how important it is to be connected to each other and to understand the services we can all provide."
However, not every domestic violence case is the same. Harschaoui said there are various factors that can complicate things because oftentimes. These cases are not only physically abusive, but emotional and financial manipulation could also be at hand.
"They may say, you know, please don't arrest this person because they're so fearful and they want to kind of want to look like they're on the abuser's side because they know what will happen they know what will happen when they're alone at home later," said Harschaoui.
WCPO reached out to the Clermont County Prosecutor's Office Monday to find out why William Pratt wasn't charged with strangulation, but we didn't hear back.
Resources:
- YWCA 24-hour hotline: 513-872-9259
- Women Helping Women 24-hour hotline (text or call): 513-381-5610
- National Domestic Violence hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233)
- National Domestic Violence text line: Text "START" to 88788
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