Seventy-eight people died in domestic violence cases in Colorado last year, according to an annual report published Wednesday by Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office.
The deaths included 32 domestic violence victims, eight family members or friends of the victims, and 38 perpetrators.
That was six more deaths than in 2024, but close to Colorado’s annual average of 79 over the previous four years.
David Karnes, the director of public policy and communications for the domestic violence coalition Violence Free Colorado, serves on the Colorado Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, which assembled the report. He said the overall total masks a significant change in who died.
“Although the total number of fatalities is fairly comparable to last year, the actual makeup is actually considerably different,” Karnes said.
For the first time since Colorado has been collecting this data, more perpetrators than victims died. Of the 38 perpetrators who died, 28 died by suicide. Eighteen of the 57 cases involved murder-suicide. The board said suicidal behavior by perpetrators can be a warning sign of lethal violence toward others.
The demographics of 2025’s “collateral victims” — family or friends of people affected by domestic violence — also changed. No children died due to domestic violence last year; eight young children were killed in 2024.
Gun violence remained a common thread through most of last year’s lethal cases.
“It highlights the importance of removing guns from these situations and making sure that we are leaning on the existing protections within the law, such as the extreme risk protection order, to remove guns from those situations,” Karnes said.
The findings come as a new state law seeks to ensure survivors get help before violence turns deadly. Starting next summer, all law enforcement will be required to ask victims a set of questions to determine if they’re at heightened risk and need immediate help.
Karnes said he hopes the lethality assessment protocol, or LAP, will not only reduce fatalities, but also help more survivors access support.
“The LAP itself is just a tool,” he said. “It's really about making sure that folks who are the most vulnerable are, A, made aware of that vulnerability, and B, put in touch with resources that can help.”
Experts who compiled this year’s report are urging state lawmakers to dedicate more funding and staff to respond to domestic violence and advocate for survivors, especially with fewer federal dollars available.
Colorado established its Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board nearly a decade ago. The program will sunset in July 2027 unless state leaders decide to continue it.
Anyone experiencing domestic violence or in crisis should call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-(800)-799-7233, or visit thehotline.org.
