Reaching Out to Domestic Violence Victims

Turning Point of McHenry County Executive Director Jane Farmer said a neighbor told her a story that resonated with the domestic violence advocate.

The neighbor was in a store and saw a woman with a black eye. He looked up the phone number for Turning Point on his cellphone, wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to the woman when no one was looking. He told her to call if she needed help.

No one will ever know if the woman gets help, but “someone cared, someone tried to help,” Farmer said.

The recent death of Michelle Mathieu, 52, of Huntley, left her neighbors shaken and the situation made some feel helpless. A neighbor called police in August 2011 when she heard screaming and yelling coming from the home Mathieu rented with her boyfriend, Robert Signorile, 43. He was arrested on charges of domestic battery.

But Mathieu was not able to get away from the abuse. She died March 24 of injuries she received seven days earlier at Signorile’s hands, police said.

How do you help a victim of domestic violence?

“I think it’s a matter of we have to continually educate and talk to people to make sure they are aware of it and get the word out where to go for services and help,” Farmer said.

Turning Point can provide guidance for anyone wanting to help or reach out to a victim of domestic abuse. “It doesn’t have to be confrontational,” she said, adding it is important to keep the line of communications open.

Farmer said neighbors, family and friends should call police if there is screaming and yelling or if they witness any type of situation that can escalate into violence.

Huntley police can investigate and provide options and resources for victims.

“We are very proactive when we know a situation is going on," Huntley Sgt. Linda Hooten. "But it’s hard to reach out and help people unless we know about it."