Dallas County reported the second-highest number of deaths caused by intimate partner violence in the state, according to a new study.
DALLAS — Laura Jean Wright DeMuth’s two children remember their mother for her kindness and warmth. The 63-year-old was shot and killed in Dallas in August 2025 by her husband, 77-year-old William Price, who later took his own life.
DeMuth’s tragic end to her life makes her one of 160 Texans killed by their current or former partners in 2025, the Texas Council on Family Violence found. Of those 160 victims, 21 were killed in Dallas County, the study found. Only Harris County had more deaths: 26.
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Of those victims, 136 were women, and 24 were men, according to a new study published by the nonprofit.
The annual Honoring Texas Victims Report was released this month, October, which is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The report reveals that the number of people killed due to domestic violence has stayed steady; just one less person died from partner violence in 2025 compared with 2024. Along with reporting the number of people killed, the report also includes data about how, where, and when they were killed.
“This report is the only one that compiles all intimate partner homicides in Texas and ensures their stories are used to build better protections for survivors and better accountability for abusers,” the release states. “The measure of this report’s success is not how completely it documents loss; it is how effectively it helps prevent the next one,” said Gloria Aguilera Terry, CEO of the Texas Council on Family Violence.
The report found that victims of deadly intimate partner violence were as young as 16 and as old as 89 at the time of their deaths. The study also revealed that a majority, 69% of victims, were killed by an abuser with a firearm, illustrating the fact that the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the likelihood of death for the victim by 500%.
The data also revealed trends that speak to the predictability of deaths from intimate partner violence; over 32% of offenders had a history of violence and 24% had previously interacted with the criminal justice system.
“Family violence is knowable, predictable and preventable, and it affects far more than just the people in the intimate relationship,” said Rosie Martinez, director of coordinated responses and safety strategies. “Family violence is named so because it destroys the safety we are supposed to rely on in our own homes, and it puts the victim and everyone around the victim at risk of harm and even death”.
The non-profit and the recently formed Honoring Texas Victims Task Force, which was created by the Texas Legislature and operates under the governor’s authority, will use the findings from the report to make police recommendations ahead of the next meeting of the Texas Legislature.
The full study includes details of how the report was compiled and includes more information about the real people behind the numbers, including DeMuth and dozens of other North Texans killed last year.