Hubbard House released its annual Domestic Violence Fatality Review on Thursday morning, reporting that 21 people were killed in domestic violence-related homicides across Duval County in 2025. The report counted 16 domestic violence-related homicide cases overall, including 10 involving intimate partners. Purple wreaths were displayed across the area as a sign of unity with those affected by domestic abuse.
The 2025 tally marks an increase from the prior year, according to Action News Jax. The 2024 Domestic Violence Fatality Review Report had recorded 14 domestic violence-related homicide cases in Duval County, including 11 involving intimate partners, according to 104.5 WOKV. Those 2024 homicides resulted in 19 deaths, including three perpetrators who died in homicide-suicides, the station reported.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office recorded 5,579 instances of domestic violence throughout 2025, per JSO. Mayor Donna Deegan has coordinated support services with Hubbard House, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office to help survivors find safety. Deegan said people suffering in silence should know they are not alone.
A Survivor's Account
Beth, a domestic violence survivor and advocate, described being suddenly woken and punched in the head by an attacker. She said she did not know who would believe her. Beth also said promises that abuse will not happen again can create a cycle that resumes six months later.
Hubbard House has launched its Where You Are initiative to provide sanctuary and remind victims they do not have to endure fear, shame or pain in isolation. The organization offers immediate aid to victims and families throughout Duval County, including emergency shelter and supportive services for survivors and their families in Duval and Baker counties, per a related report. Hubbard House and partner agencies released the annual fatality review during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Looking Back at a Decade of Data
Duval County's domestic violence homicide numbers have swung significantly over the past decade. In 2023, the county recorded 10 domestic violence homicide cases resulting in 13 deaths, the lowest number of such cases since 2015, when there were eight cases and 14 deaths, according to JaxToday. By comparison, 2022 saw 14 fatal domestic abuse cases leaving 19 people dead, and 2021 saw 17 cases with 19 deaths, the outlet reported.
Firearms played an outsized role in these deaths. Guns were used in 60% of Duval County domestic violence homicides in 2023, just above the average of 57% gun usage since 1997, per the same JaxToday analysis. In 2023, 88% of intimate partner domestic violence homicides involved relationships with a documented history of domestic violence.
The pattern of bystanders knowing about abuse but not intervening has also persisted. In five of the 11 intimate partner violence homicide cases in Duval County in 2024, friends, family, neighbors or others who knew the victim or suspect were aware of violence in the relationship but did not provide any significant source of help for the victim, according to 104.5 WOKV.
How Local Agencies Intervene
The City of Jacksonville's Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team, known as INVEST, identifies and intervenes in potentially the most lethal domestic violence cases. The team includes a City of Jacksonville planning technician, Hubbard House advocates, and specially trained and assigned Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers, according to the City of Jacksonville.
What the Review and Local Protections Cover
Additional context in the 2024 Duval County review includes its counting rules: the review team said it excluded child deaths resulting from domestic violence unless a child was killed as part of an attack on an adult that fit the statutory definition. Hubbard House said that review identified prior domestic violence, cohabitation and the presence of firearms as risk factors among the homicide cases it examined, according to the Hubbard House release.
The City of Jacksonville says participation in INVEST is voluntary and confidential. As general legal context, the 15th Judicial Circuit says a temporary domestic-violence injunction can require the respondent to surrender firearms.
Hubbard House has served Duval and Baker counties since opening Florida's first domestic violence shelter in 1976. Today the organization is a cornerstone of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which identifies and addresses trends seen in domestic violence-related deaths, and it operates as a 116-bed facility in a safe, secure and confidential location, according to Hubbard House. Over its history, the organization has answered more than 147,000 hotline calls and served more than 168,000 victims and their children.
Free, confidential support is available around the clock through Hubbard House's hotline at 904-354-3114 and text line at 904-210-3698. Anyone in Duval County experiencing abuse, or who knows someone who is, can reach an advocate directly through either line.
