In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness month, this column is dedicated to the 13 women who died last year because of domestic violence, and the one who died in Freeborn County this year. Last week, you read five stories; here are the remaining eight. Read their stories and remember them &045; they deserved better.

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Erin Rooney, 33,Burnsville, died July 13, 2004 &045; Charles Barnes, 38, called a police dispatcher and said he had just arrived home to find his ex-wife, Erin, unconscious. He told the dispatcher that he thought she had overdosed on drugs. When police arrived, they found no signs of drug use except for a single hypodermic syringe, which Barnes said he had found. The Dakota County medical examiner later found that Rooney died of injuries consistent with being hit and strangled, including bruises to her face, cuts on the inside of her mouth and neck injuries.

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Sheng Vang, 21, Minneapolis, died July 18, 2004 &045; Sheng was found stabbed to death in the St. Paul garage belonging to a member of her estranged husband’s family. Sheng’s mother had warned her that morning not to go alone to see Moua Her, 22, to retrieve legal documents she needed for a passport. According to police, family records and court documents, in the past several years there had been many reports of fights, threats, and abuse of Sheng. Sheng was working on a business career while attending Century Col lege. She left behind a 2-year-old daughter.

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Angela Sangster, 32, Minneapolis, died Sept. 4, 2004 &045; Norman Howard, 51, is suspected of shooting his girlfriend, Angela, in the head and killing her. Last fall, Angela told police that Howard had said he would kill her, and that he threatened to stab her with a screwdriver in their home. The night of the murder, the couple went together to a Minneapolis bar. Howard became enraged at Sanaster when she didn’t want to leave the bar when he did. Later that evening, he shot Angela in his car.

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Casandra Current, 26, Minneapolis, died Sept. 10, 2004 &045; Police found a 62-year-old man stabbed to death in his front yard and two women stabbed to death in the basement, Casandra, and her mother, Renee Brown, 44. The man was identified as Brown’s step-father, Wayne Huotari. Nine days before the murder, Current’s boyfriend, Bryant Jones, 31, assaulted her. The day after, Current reported to police that he had sexually assaulted her. Friends and family reported that Jones was an extremely violent man who had assaulted Casandra numerous times. Instead of being sentenced the recommended 38 months in prison, Jones was ordered to complete chemical dependency treatment and one year in the workhouse, according to Hennepin County court records. Jones spent only six months in the workhouse. .

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Mary Johnson, 42, Alexandria, died Oct. 28, 2004 &045; The Alexandria Police Department received a call at 6:45 p.m. from Mary, who told the dispatcher that she was being threatened with a gun by her husband, Scott Johnson, 43. When police arrived at the couple’s home and failed to make contact with them, the Douglas County SWAT team was called out and set a barricade around the home. After securing the home, the team entered the home and found that Scott Johnson had shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself. Mary Johnson is survived by two adult sons.

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Crystal Lindorff, 22, St. Paul, died Nov. 16, 2004 &045; A St. Paul man who served prison time for stabbing a girlfriend was charged in the fatal strangulation of another girlfriend. Alexander Miller, 32, and Crystal had been arguing all day about his infidelity when he reportedly strangled her at the apartment they shared with their 9-month-old son. Lindorff’s family told police there was a history of Miller abusing Crystal but that she was afraid to report him to police. Police arrested Miller at the apartment. Alexander Miller received a 45-month sentence for second-degree assault after he stabbed a girlfriend in 1997. Miller was charged with second-degree murder in Crystal’s death.

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Stacy Ziegler Smith, 29, Winona, died Dec. 16, 2004 &045; A 21-year-old man, Paul Gordon, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder; four counts of second-degree murder; first-degree criminal sexual conduct; and first-degree arson in the deaths of Stacy and her daughter Taylor, 10. It was determined that Stacy and Taylor were strangled to death and that Taylor was also beaten and sexually assaulted. Police announced that the fire was deliberately set. In the weeks leading up to the slayings, Gordon asked witnesses for rat poison and a syringe and told them that he wanted to get Stacy “off my back.”

Next week, a look at bullying by children and how it can lead to adult violence.

(Managing Editor Debbie Irmen’s columns appear Sundays.)