Alleged gunman Guerino Annarumma taken into custody.

Arguably it can go without being said that a divorce may cause a negative psychological effect on those involved.  While many divorces end without long-lasting complications, many do not.  Dr. Robert Segraves, a psychiatrist that completed his residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center, points out that ”divorced men and women had the highest ratings of mental disturbance” when compared to those married, single, or widowed.  For alleged murder suspect from Queens, Guerino Annarumma, 52, the mental affect of an impending divorce lead to a deadly altercation between his stepdaughter and estranged wife, Olga Annarumma.

The couple had been married for five-and-a-half rocky years, though they had been estranged since 2009.  Records show a history of orders of protection against Guerino and in October of 2009, Guerino was arrested and convicted of aggravated harassment for threatening to kill Olga.

According to Guerino’s grizzly account given to police, he shot and killed Olga’s daughter first before shooting and critically injuring Olga hours before their trial was scheduled to start. That trial should have began at 2 p.m. Monday in Queens Supreme Court, however, neither client showed. The NY Daily News reported that despite a history of violence, Olga’s lawyer, Helene Sherman was “in shock” when she heard the news, saying that she never thought Guerino would follow through on his threats.

Image from Annarumma's home, courtesy of the NY Daily News.

As horrific as the account may seem, tales of domestic violence occur rather frequently.  According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, everyday 3-4 women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends and 1 in 4 women will experience some form of partner violence during their lifetimes. In 2005 alone, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.  While a specific statistic in unknown with regard to those that murdered their spouse because of a pending divorce, the study above serves as a cautionary example of the dangers of remaining in relationships involving domestic violence.  Sometimes even trying to get out of a relationship when domestic violence occurs can be too late.  Get the facts here on domestic violence and what to look out for.