Years before a 74-year-old man killed a 73-year-old woman and then himself in a tragic murder-suicide days before Thanksgiving, he was arrested twice on domestic violence counts against the same victim.
Livingston Parish sheriff's deputies responded to a late night call at a home on Acadiana Avenue on Nov. 21. When they arrived, they found Patricia Burge Blue, 73, and Carl Altazin, 74, unresponsive.
Blue had suffered a gunshot wound to the upper torso, while Altazin appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the "upper extremities," Sheriff Jason Ard said. The two were known to have been "longtime acquaintances," he added.
Detectives believe the pair argued earlier in the evening but are still working to determine what led up to the incident, Ard said. The investigation remains ongoing.
Blue was fondly known as "maw-maw Pat" by her loved ones, according to her obituary, which also describes her as "a bright light in a dark world."
She was employed by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for 30 years until her 2005 retirement, the obituary says. Her "greatest joy and her most prized possession" was her family. Blue also loved "her precious fur babies," it reads.
While limited information is available about the shooting, Livingston Parish court records show Altazin had a brief history of domestic violence that often escalated when family members intervened in his relationship with Blue.
The case shows how it can be difficult for law enforcement and the justice system to intervene in domestic violence situations — even when there are red flags — because of the complicated relationships between the abuser and the victim.
Two arrests in two years
In 2017, a deputy responded to a home on Acadiana Avenue after receiving reports of a “suicidal subject,” records say.
Documents describe how Altazin made “suicidal statements to his son following an altercation” between them. Blue, who was also present, said Altazin “pushed her against a wall causing her to fall to the ground.” Altazin admitted to pushing Blue, the report says.
A standard temporary restraining order was filed in that case, which was eventually dismissed.
In 2019, a deputy again was called to the same residence in response to a domestic incident. The dispatcher warned the responding deputy that Altazin had a history of domestic violence and may be armed because there were guns in the house, the sheriff's office report says.
The deputy learned Altazin was angry a relative had arrived with a pie for him and Blue, according to court records. He hit the pie out of the relative’s hands and began to argue with the person and say “derogatory things” to them until Blue stepped in to defend the relative, documents say.
Altazin then put Blue in a “head lock,” the records show, “pushed her onto the living room floor” and “dragged her by her robe.” He also approached the person visiting and struck them multiple times, the documents say. The relative told police Altazin “grabbed her by the neck, pushed her onto the couch and ripped her shirt off.”
A family member who arrived on scene after that incident told authorities Altazin “needs to go to jail before it escalates to something worse,” the report says.
Another standard, temporary restraining order was issued. The case was dismissed.
Challenging prosecutions
Scott Perrilloux, the Livingston Parish District Attorney, said in both cases Blue requested the cases be dropped — an action not uncommon for victims of domestic violence.
In many cases people in such relationships continue to care for the perpetrator, or are worried about disrupting their family unit by sending the abuser to prison. Sometimes the victim may be dependent on their attacker for financial security and have nowhere else to turn for support.
Perrilloux said his office has a "no-drop policy" — a standard where the district attorney will not drop a domestic violence case simply because the victim requested it. However, it's a challenge to prosecute without a victim's cooperation.
Although Altazin's charges were ultimately dismissed, prosecutors ensured in the 2017 incident he partially attended a treatment program for people accused of domestic violence. In the 2019 case, Altazin was required to attend all 26 weeks of a Domestic Violence Offender Program that acts as an intervention to prevent the escalation of abuse.
Perrilloux said records show Altazin cooperated with the order and attended the class.
Prosecuting domestic violence often presents challenging cases with no easy answers, the district attorney said.
"I know I get a lot of calls from victims on domestics that want to try to work things out," he said. "Sometimes I wonder what right I have to say you can’t work on your relationship."
'Lethality' indicators
Mariah Wineski, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said threats of suicide by an abuser should put authorities on alert for potentially deadly violence against the abuser's victim.
"What we do know is that an abuser threatening suicide is actually a lethality factor for the victim," she said. "It is a documented factor ... because of the propensity for murder-suicide."
More than half of murder-suicide events each year are categorized as domestic violence incidents, according to a recently published article in the Law Enforcement Bulletin provided by the FBI training division.
The article identifies three characteristics common in murder-suicides: An intimate male and female relationship, a gun used in both deaths and the male perpetrator kills himself shortly after murdering his partner.
"Older adult males disproportionately represent the population carrying out murder-suicides, holding responsibility for at least one-third of all occurrences in the United States," the article says. "A Florida study found a much higher incidence among such men — most in their 70s — than those in younger age groups."
Wineski added that the abuser may use threats of suicide to control the victim as part of a cycle of blame to trap them. Identifying these patterns before a tragedy could be a critical step in heading off further violence.
"Typically if you have a situation where you’ve got an explicit threat of suicide and that’s combined with violence against the victim, that’s a pretty dangerous situation there," she said. "To be able to recognize that for what it is and hopefully intervene and get some accountability at that point would be the way to prevent these things from escalating."
Those experiencing domestic abuse can contact the statewide Louisiana Domestic Violence Hotline at (888) 411-1333 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233. Those experiencing thoughts of suicide or who are in crisis can call 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org/.