Domestic violence cases are trending up in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2022, according to police.
New police statistics show calls about assaults on family members are up 20% so far this year, and nearly half of the homicides in the county have been domestic-related.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis sat down with , to talk about the county鈥檚 latest domestic violence statistics, and he also provided an update about a particularly high-profile domestic-violence case 鈥� the murder of Hannah Choi in Alexandria.
鈥淪o far this year, we have 19 homicides in Fairfax County. We had exactly 19 the same time last year, as well,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淏ut nine of our 19 are domestic-related.鈥�
Davis noted this number is not inconsistent with 2021, which ended the year with 21 homicides, seven of which were adult children, living at home with their parents, who they ended up killing in their homes.
鈥淪o, consistent with last year, we鈥檙e still seeing domestic-related homicides at a higher rate than the years gone by,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎nd if it鈥檚 not a relationship inside the home, it鈥檚 a former relationship, an estranged relationship.鈥�
Davis said domestic-related homicides are especially frustrating, because often a family member or friend tells investigators they suspected something like that was going to happen.
The murder of 35-year-old Arlington-resident Hannah Choi was one of the nine domestic-related homicides in Fairfax County in 2022. She was reported missing on March 6, the day after she and her ex-boyfriend, 27-year-old Joel Merino, shared what police referred to as a 鈥済oodbye dinner鈥� at a restaurant.
Merino has been on the run since the day Choi was reported missing. Her body was discovered in Piscataway Park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on March 24.
Police identified Merino as a person of interest early on in the investigation into Choi鈥檚 disappearance, but police said they had to move carefully. The time spent working with prosecutors from the commonwealth鈥檚 attorney鈥檚 office to establish probable cause gave Merino time to disappear.
Davis said they secured a warrant for second-degree murder for Merino before Choi鈥檚 body was discovered, but by that time Merino was already on the run. In the early days of the investigation, he was believed to be in the Atlanta area, though not anymore.
鈥淲e know where he is. We can鈥檛 get to him right now,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 kind of cryptic, but that would probably imply, at least, that he may or may not be in the country. So we鈥檙e working with federal officials to take Joel Merino into custody.鈥�
From an investigative standpoint, with a warrant for Merino鈥檚 arrest, Davis said, the case is closed for Fairfax County Police, but the goal is still to 鈥渟ee him in a pair of handcuffs in Fairfax County.鈥�
鈥淎nd there are a lot of people working at the federal and local levels to make sure that happens. I want to close that for the Choi family.鈥�
Davis hesitates using the word 鈥渃losure.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably not the best word, because I think that鈥檚 more of a journey than it is a destination, but it鈥檚 a step along the way for the family,鈥� Davis said.
. If you or are in danger, please use a safe computer and consider calling 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 / TTY 1-800-787-3224 or the StrongHearts Native Helpline at 1鈭�844-762-8483 (call or text) are available to assist you.
