RIVERSIDE: Court order offered little protection in triple homicide

Riverside police investigate a triple homicide in Riverside where a mother and her two children were fatally stabbed. (Kurt Miller/Staff)



In the days before a Riverside woman and her children were fatally stabbed, that woman went to court seeking protection from her ex-boyfriend.

And though it was approved by a judge, that protection order was only worth the paper it was written on. Restraining orders can serve as a deterrent, but they rarely offer any real protection.

You could say the system did what it was supposed to. But it also failed miserably.

Because of the way the family law system is established, police cannot enforce a restraining order until it has been processed. That means, informing all parties of the restraining order and furnishing copies to the city and county.

Based on the current rules, there’s little more authorities could have done. Police responded to the home repeatedly last weekend – once when the woman was reporting her ex-boyfriend stalking her and again when she said he tried to break in.

Police took another report on Sunday when she reported death threats to her and her family. The police came, but they cannot stay forever.

Police say that following threats, victims are often given advice on safe houses or other means to escape their attackers. In the end, the truth is the victims can only protect themselves.

And the next day, she went to court seeking a restraining order. One day later, on Tuesday, the judge signed that order granting a temporary restraining order and setting a September hearing for custody and a permanent protection order.

But in this case, the mother and her children will not see that hearing. As much domestic violence exists and as many open threats float around, changes have to be made in the system so they’re all taken seriously.



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