Michaela Kreitler says the signs were there months before her 19-year-old daughter, Victoria Kreitler, was shot and killed by her partner near 35th and Davenport streets. Now she's speaking out, hoping other families recognize what she didn't in time.
Omaha police previously identified the two people found dead that morning as 26-year-old Lucas Nunez and 19-year-old Victoria Kreitler, according to KETV. The station reported that the department's homicide unit determined Nunez shot and killed his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself, with the incident happening near 35th and Davenport streets on a Friday around 7:30 a.m. A candlelight vigil was later held at that same intersection in Victoria's honor, the station reported.
A Mother Reflects on Missed Warning Signs
Michaela Kreitler says victims often don't recognize the severity of what's happening to them, or don't believe their partner would ever actually hurt them. She said her daughter experienced emotional abuse in the months before her death, and described Victoria as caught in what she called an addiction to the trauma-bond cycle.
She said she tried multiple times to help her daughter leave the relationship. Looking back, Michaela Kreitler said one red flag stands out clearly now: needing to minimize yourself for a partner, she said, can be a sign that it's time to go.
Why Leaving Is So Difficult
Jannette Taylor, president and CEO of the Women's Center for Advancement, said a victim typically makes around seven attempts before actually leaving an abusive relationship. She said victims need consistent support from their circle of family and friends throughout that process, rather than judgment for staying or returning.
Taylor said family members and friends sometimes dismiss abusive behavior instead of pushing the person responsible for it toward help. She argued that addressing perpetrator behavior directly, not just supporting victims after the fact, is essential to preventing these situations from escalating. Getting help for perpetrators early, she said, may stop situations from becoming catastrophic, and she added that people who physically harm their partners should face harsher repercussions.
Effective prevention, Taylor said, has to involve more than victims and advocates alone. She said family members, co-workers and community members all have a role to play in noticing warning signs and intervening before violence occurs.
A Statewide Pattern of Deadly Violence
Victoria Kreitler's death fits into a troubling statewide pattern. According to a report from the Nebraska Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, 89 Nebraskans lost their lives to domestic abuse between July 2022 and the end of 2025, including 30 deaths in 2025 alone. A separate accounting from Nebraska Public Media, drawing on the same review team's work, put the total at 72 deaths identified since the review began in July 2022 — a discrepancy the two outlets did not reconcile.```
The coalition's report found that Nebraska saw more intimate-partner murder-suicides in 2025 than in 2023 and 2024 combined, with murder-suicides accounting for 43% of the deaths the review team tracked that year. The Nebraska Domestic Abuse Death Review Team also found that about 56% of victims reviewed were female, while 87% of perpetrators were male. Separately, Nebraska Public Media reported that the state recorded 15 domestic-abuse deaths from January through July of 2025 alone, already surpassing the 13 deaths recorded during all of 2024.
Local Demand for Services Remains High
The scale of need locally has been substantial. A report cited by WOWT found that Douglas County service programs supported 4,080 domestic-violence victims and fielded 10,063 crisis calls in 2022, with emergency calls related to domestic violence averaging about 51 a day between 2020 and 2022. The same report found that violent incidents between dating partners in the county rose from about 28% in 2015 to 41% in 2022, and that roughly half of victims and offenders were younger than 34.
Funding to support survivors has not kept pace. Nebraska's Victims of Crime Act funding fell from nearly $20 million in 2018 to less than $5 million in 2024, according to the coalition's report.
What Protection Orders Can and Can't Do
Under Nebraska law, a protection order may be issued initially for at least one year and no more than two years, with the court setting the exact length, according to Nebraska Revised Statute 26-110. The Nebraska Judicial Branch describes three types of protection orders, including a domestic-abuse protection order that applies to people who have been in close relationships — relatives, spouses or former spouses, and people who have lived together. That type of order can be renewed for one year, and yearly after that, per the Judicial Branch's guidance.
When police respond to a domestic disturbance in Omaha, a report is filed and the Domestic Violence Squad continues the investigation, working with the court system to determine whether an arrest can be made, according to the Omaha Police Department. The department notes that victims cannot press charges, drop charges, or obtain a warrant through the Douglas County Attorney's Office, since those decisions are handled through the investigation process itself. Anyone seeking the squad directly can reach it at (402) 444-5825.
Resources Available Year-Round
October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Taylor said this year's theme, “With Survivors Always,” is meant to represent that awareness and conversation should continue beyond a single month. The Women's Center for Advancement says it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping survivors craft safety plans, pursue protection orders, and access free legal aid for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in Douglas County. The center also offers free mental-health care from licensed therapists for clients in crisis.
Anyone in immediate danger should call 911, and those with broader human-service needs can call 211. The Women's Center for Advancement operates a domestic violence hotline at 402-345-7273, the Mayor's hotline can be reached at 402-444-5555, and the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available at 988.
