Case archive

Domestic violence case archive and memorial story index

Browse published case files by victim name, location, warning signs, and major case developments without losing the memorial context behind the reporting.

Each story is built to preserve memory while organizing the public record, timeline, aftermath, and prevention context in one place.

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Search by victim name, case terms, city, state, or county to find published memorial case files and documentary reporting.

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34 published case files are currently available in the archive.

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Fatima Johnson in Los Angeles, California
Richard Cote in Waterbury, Vermont
Madeline Pantoja in Midland, Texas

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Showing filtered results with warning sign "Strangulation".

Warning Signs Index

Browse published stories by specific warning signs, including stalking, prior threats, protection orders, and escalating violence.

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Resolved case

Convicted

Los Angeles, California • 2021-07-02

Fatima Johnson

Sentenced girlfriend

On July 2, 2021, 53-year-old Fatima Johnson was murdered in her South Los Angeles apartment by her boyfriend, Darryl Lamar Collins. Collins bound Johnson's wrists and ankles, gagged her with duct tape, and left her to die of asphyxiation. He then stole her phone, jewelry, and car, rapidly pawning the items and selling the vehicle for drugs. Johnson's daughters and best friend discovered her body wrapped in a blanket on July 4, 2021, after she failed to show up for work. The killing occurred just 364 days after Collins was paroled under a youthful offender law for two 1995 stranger murders. In February 2026, Collins was convicted of first-degree special circumstance murder, and on March 20, 2026, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Warning signs: Strangulation, Escalating violence

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Resolved case

Waterbury, Vermont • 2024-06-24

Richard Cote

Sentenced Intimate partner

Richard Eugene Cote, 76, a prominent business owner in Morristown, Vermont, was killed in his upstairs residence on the night of July 23–24, 2024. Investigative records indicate that Theodore "Teddy" Farnham, 54, who had an intermittent, complex, and occasionally intimate relationship with Cote spanning roughly 30 years, went to Cote's residence to ask for money. Digital, financial, and video surveillance evidence placed Farnham at the residence between 9:45 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Following a violent assault resulting in Cote's death by strangulation and blunt force trauma, Farnham fled the scene in Cote's vehicle, discarded Cote's cell phone, and used Cote's stolen credit cards to execute over $1,200 in fraudulent transactions. Cote's body was discovered during a welfare check on the morning of July 24. Farnham was arrested on August 1, 2024, on an unrelated warrant and subsequently charged with second-degree murder. Despite initially pleading not guilty, Farnham accepted a plea agreement in January 2026, pleading guilty to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 25 years to life with all but 16 years suspended.

Warning signs: Prior threats, Strangulation

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Resolved case

Convicted 911 Available Court Records

Midland, Texas • 2023-05-11

Madeline Pantoja

Sentenced ex-girlfriend

Madeline Molina Pantoja, 20, disappeared from her Midland, Texas, apartment on West Francis Avenue on or about May 11, 2023. Her vehicle, phone, and dog were left unattended, prompting immediate concern from her family and friends. After initial tension between the family and local police regarding the pace of the investigation, multi-agency search teams combed a 60-square-mile area. On May 20, 2023, her remains were discovered hidden in a rural field in Midland County. Her ex-boyfriend, Mario Juan Chacon Jr., 24, was arrested the same day. Investigators linked Chacon to the murder through cell phone location data and physical evidence of a struggle in her apartment, including bloodstains, holes in doors, and a missing coffee table. An indictment asserted that Pantoja had been beaten, strangled, and suffocated. On February 20, 2026, Chacon pleaded guilty in the 142nd District Court to first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. ---

Warning signs: Stalking, Separation, Strangulation

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