Dallas County accounted for 21 of the 160 Texans who died at the hands of current or former intimate partners in 2025, placing it second among Texas counties in the Texas Council on Family Violence’s latest fatality review.
The council documented 18 women and three men among Dallas County’s victims in its 2025 Honoring Texas Victims fact sheet. Only Harris County had a higher total, with 26 deaths. Tarrant County followed with 16, including 12 women and four men.
Together, Dallas and Tarrant counties accounted for 37 victims, or about 23% of the statewide total.
The annual review examines deaths from the previous calendar year. Its county rankings reflect the number of victims, rather than population-adjusted homicide rates.
Statewide, the council identified 136 women and 24 men killed by intimate partners across 45 counties. The total fell by one from the 161 victims the council documented in 2024.
The report cautions that a single year’s change does not establish a sustained trend or show whether domestic violence overall has become more or less prevalent or severe.
The consequences extended beyond the immediate victims. The council counted 15 additional deaths among children, relatives, friends and bystanders connected to the incidents. Five pregnant victims also lost their unborn children. Those deaths brought the report’s combined toll to 180.
The homicides left 128 minor children and 95 adult children without one or both parents, according to the council.
Most of the domestic partner homicides —67%— occurred at the victim’s home or a home shared with the offender. More than 32% of offenders had a history of violence, and 24% had a history of criminal justice intervention, while 17% of the victims had previously sought help from friends, family, advocates, or law enforcement agencies.
The researchers drew on state crime data, law enforcement and court records, media coverage and information from local partners. The report acknowledges gaps in available records and explains that missing documentation can prevent a death from meeting its inclusion criteria.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, Dallas’ city dashboard tracks family violence and the narrower category of intimate-partner crimes separately. That city-level reporting differs in geography, reporting period, and scope from the council’s statewide and county-specific review of 2025 fatalities.
The Dallas Domestic Violence Crimes Dashboard showed that 5,647 intimate partner crimes had been reported in the city this year as of October 10. No intimate partner deaths have been reported to date. In 2025, the dashboard showed 6,668 intimate partner crimes and 14 intimate partner deaths.
The City of Dallas is encouraging residents and organizations during October to wear purple or display purple lights or ribbons, and share educational resources about healthy relationships, safety, and the prevention of domestic violence for Domestic Violence Awareness month.
On Thursday, October 15, the Dallas Police Department is hosting a Domestic Violence Panel Discussion at 11 a.m. at its headquarters. On Tuesday, October 27, all interested persons are invited to Overcoming Domestic Violence with Debra Nixon Bowles at 3 p.m. at the same location.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers support at 800-799-7233 and through texts of START to 88788. Anyone in immediate danger should call 911.
Provided by Dallas Express
