Case of mother shot, killed in public park, sheds light on domestic violence in Orange Co.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County mother who investigators said was shot and killed by her husband in front of their children in a busy park, has become the latest incident in a rising trend of deadly domestic violence cases in the county.

Those in the community who work to end domestic violence, said it starts with a better understanding of abuse.

“We’re only second in domestic violence next to Miami-Dade and we’re only 1,000 less and they have over twice the population,” said Harbor House Chief Executive Officer, Carol Wick.

In Orange County alone, 12 people were killed in 2012, and 18 last year, in domestic violence incidents.

Those numbers do not include innocent bystanders like the woman shot at a hair salon in Casselberry in 2012 when officers said Bradford Baumet stormed in and killed his estranged girlfriend.

Wick said the local economy and Orange County’s diversity plays a major part.

“A lower-income community with people doing service jobs, a lot of people who have immigrated from other countries where domestic abuse isn’t illegal and tolerated,” Wick said.

Wick said Liza Adderlini, the mother who was killed in broad daylight in a public park, is the latest reminder of why domestic violence is everyone’s problem.

“Domestic violence is a problem for everyone in the community because you never know where, or when, an abuser will take his victim,” Wick said.

WFTV