Wendy’s Story
Wendy Elizabeth Howard was charged by the Kern County District Attorney with first-degree murder, and an additional gun enhancement because she defended herself and her children from her abuser. Her trial is currently scheduled for August 29, 2022. The maximum sentence that Wendy could receive, if she is convicted, is 50 years to life.
Wendy first met her abuser in 2002. Since 2002, he has abused Wendy, Wendy’s children, and his own children. The abuse was verbal, physical, and sexual. These incidents of abuse include the following:
He beat Wendy with a baseball bat while she was pregnant with their daughter. Felony charges were filed against him in Ventura County.
He attempted to rape Wendy.
He sexually assaulted one of Wendy’s minor daughters, touching her inappropriately, exposing his genitals to her, and trying to coerce her into watching pornography with him.
He has also been accused by other women in the community of abuse.
Wendy took legal action to try and stop all the abuse, but her appeals were ignored by the Kern County District Attorney. Finally, in 2019, the abuser sexually assaulted his (and Wendy’s) biological daughter, who was also a minor. When Wendy discovered the assault, she immediately filed a report with the Tehachapi Police Department, which opened an investigation but took no action. Four days later, the abuser attacked Wendy at her home while her children and grandchildren were in the house, and Wendy was forced to shoot him in self-defense.
Wendy’s story is the story of hundreds of thousands of women in the United States. According to the Department of Justice, nearly 60 percent of all women in state prisons, and 40 percent of women in federal prisons, are survivors of physical and sexual abuse. The advocacy collective Survived & Punished reports that 70 percent of people in women’s prisons are mothers, and 1.3 million children are affected by the imprisonment of mothers. Every year, 324,000 pregnant women are physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner. Pregnancy can be an especially dangerous time for women in abusive relationships, and abuse often begins or escalates, during pregnancy. Every day, three women die because of intimate partner violence.
During Wendy’s bail hearing, the judge agreed that there was evidence of justified self-defense and lowered Wendy’s bail from $1 million to $500,000. Despite this, the Kern County District Attorney has refused to drop the charges.
Wendy’s 7 children and 9 grandchildren all depend on her and will be devastated if she goes to prison. The Kern County District Attorney claims that it protects victims of physical and sexual abuse, while at the same time prosecuting Wendy for defending herself. Furthermore, the DA has failed to offer Wendy’s daughters support services for surviving their own abuse.
All the charges must be dropped! Women who are imprisoned for self-defense against an abusive partner pose no threat to public safety. Wendy suffered for years at the hands of a serial abuser. She deserves support, not punishment!
#JusticeForWendy #DefendWendy