The Center for Research on Violence Against Women
Reviewing the Murder of Susie Casey: Some Observations on Violence Against Women
Neil Websdale addresses the complexities of the life and murder of Susie Casey, a Montana woman who disappeared on April 12, 2008 from Glendive, Montana, only to be found dead three weeks later. The long search for and prosecution of her killer raised many issues that the anti-domestic violence movement confronts in its day-to-day work. The case challenges many of our assumptions about "battered women," who they are, their agency, their resistive maneuverability, and the social structural and biographical pressures they negotiate. It also raises painful questions about what needs to happen for the anti-violence against women movement to progress. His presentation draws upon detailed archival data from police reports, numerous field interviews, court documents, investigative photography, and other sources contributed by Susie's family.