In late 2011, Brownsville police found a woman who was covered in blood and lying on her bedroom floor with a slit throat and 13 lacerations.
She barely survived, said Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz.
“I mean, this lady, would be dead if it wasn’t for the grace of God,” he said, adding that her estranged hus-band, fugitive Esteban Perez Cisneros, 37, vowed to return to finish the job once he learned that she survived.
“When you talk about a poster child, poster face, you talk about something good,” Saenz said. “This is the anti-poster face. This is a classic case of domestic violence. It’s domestic violence on steroids.”
October is Domestic Awareness Month and Saenz said he is highlighting the case to show just how ugly and awful domestic violence is.
“Domestic violence is a very serious offense because it strikes at the very heart of the family unit, it destroys the family unit,” Saenz said. “It’s a very serious problem. And like any other serious problem, the first thing we need to do in attacking that is bringing awareness to the community.
“And this is our way of saying ‘Folks, we’ve got a problem. Please held us address it.’”
To raise awareness, the District Attorney’s Office will tie purple ribbons around trees at the Cameron County Judicial Courthouse and county employees are wearing purple lapel pins. The purple ribbon annually represents domestic violence awareness as a unifying symbol of courage, survival, honor and dedication. There are numerous events during October that aim to raise awareness, but also to remember victims.
But tackling domestic violence is no easy feat for a law enforcement agency and all Saenz does is punish people. He can’t prevent the violence.
“It’s a very frustrating kind of case load for me as DA because the DA’s Office is equipped to punish the perpetrator. ... And part of this is to bring awareness is we the DA’s Office, we law enforcement, need help. We need help from Friendship of Women, Tip of Texas, you know, other organizations that are out there to help prevent this.”
“If you beat up your spouse, your better half, your ex-wife, your girlfriend, you will be going to jail. That’s the message that needs to get out there,” he said, adding that he has instructed his assistant district attorney’s to seek jail time in all cases, even for first-time offenders.