When teen dating turns deadly: 'You never know how fast something can go so wrong'

Throughout Jaden Battista’s brief romance with Trevor Weigel, her family thought there was something off about him.

To them, he seemed to be trying to control her life.

“But she never told us how much so,” her mother, Jeanie Milward said.

Now Battista, 19, is dead.

Weigel, 23, is accused of stabbing her 15 times two days after Valentine's Day, before stabbing himself in the neck while attempting to avoid apprehension.

The Churchville resident survived and faces homicide and related charges.

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On a GoFundMe page created to help the family with funeral and other expenses, Milward also urged anyone in a situation like her daughter to reach out for help immediately.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d ever say that my daughter was a murder victim. It just shows that you never know how fast something can go so wrong,” Milward wrote.

The fatal attack of Battista on the front lawn of her Lower Makefield home Feb. 16 has shined a spotlight on the under-the-radar, but real scourge of young adult dating violence.

A lack of life experience and emotional maturity are among the factors that put this age group at higher risk, local domestic violence experts say.

Teens and young adults are more prone to impulsive behavior, poor judgment and weak coping skills, while they’re far less likely to recognize abusive behavior or seek help.

Available research suggests as many as 19% of teens in the U.S., as reported in a study by the American Psychological Association, "experience sexual or physical dating violence, and about half face stalking or harassment."  Other studies show that young women between 18- and 24-years-old experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence including homicide.

Domestic violence experts believe incidents are underreported in that age group.

“The most startling is that we know that one out of three teens are impacted by dating violence, but the numbers that we serve don’t reflect it,” said Jennifer Locker, interim executive director for A Woman’s Place, the county’s domestic service provider agency.

In Bucks and Montgomery counties, individuals under 25 accounted for 13% and 10% of clients receiving counseling and legal services respectively in the last fiscal year, according to domestic service providers.

Bucks County law enforcement have not commented on whether Battista reported abusive behavior involving Weigel during their two-month relationship. Battista did not have an active protection order against Weigel at the time of her murder.

The couple remained amicable after their breakup two months ago, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said.

After he was apprehended following a short police pursuit, Weigel reportedly said that he “lost it” after finding out Battista allegedly was unfaithful.

Domestic violence in a digital world

Domestic violence experts suggest the preoccupation with instant online communication and social interactions in public forums among teens and adults has further blurred boundaries for when behavior crosses the line into inappropriate and abusive.

The normalizing of 24-hour instant access to people through social media, tracking apps and other electronic communications has added an extra layer of emotional intensity to romantic relationships, said Stacy Dougherty, deputy director for Laurel House, the county’s domestic service provider.

Teens and young adults, who lack romantic experience, often misinterpret the need for nonstop contact and monitoring as a show of intense love and devotion, not manipulative, controlling behavior, she added. Any requests for privacy are seen as a sign of suspicion or rejection.

At his 2021 murder trial, prosecutors introduced text messages from Gilbert Newton III, 18, that showed he repeatedly attempted to reconcile with Morgan McCaffery, also 18, after the breakup of their year-long romance, which ended a month before her 2020 murder.

Newton was convicted of fatally stabbing McCaffery, an Abington resident, 30 times in a SEPTA train station parking lot in Montgomery County after she agreed to meet him to return items.

When his attempts at a reunion failed, he sent McCaffery insulting and threatening messages after she blocked him on social media and her cellphone.

In one text message he wrote McCaffery, “I just want to stab u in the neck continuously.”

At trial, Newton testified that he brought two kitchen knives to the meeting with McCaffery, where she was to return some of his belongings, intending to stab himself in the neck in front of her as a test to see if she would intervene and stop him.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in McCaffery’s death and he was sentenced to life in prison.

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Help is available when abusive behavior is suspected. Why young adults don't take advantage of it

When a romantic relationship ends, it marks the period of highest risk of harm to a partner, studies show.

More than one-quarter of 150 deaths among young adults between 2003 and 2016 were precipitated by breakups and partner jealousy, according to a study by the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“Even people who never showed violence before can turn dangerous really quickly,” said Beth Sturman, executive director of Laurel House.

The post-breakup danger window can last six months to a year or more after a breakup, which makes safety planning critical for abuse victims, their friends and family.

But teens and young adults are far less likely to recognize red flags of abusive behavior or know what to do about it. Fewer than one-third of U.S. teens in a violent relationship report telling anyone about it, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

When young adults do disclose abuse, it’s typically to someone close to their age, experts say. But those peers are not likely to be in a position to effectively navigate someone out of an abusive relationship.

A friend who McCaffery had confided in about Newton’s threats, told police after her murder that that the couple argued a lot when they were together and he was abusive, but he had promised to “fix things,” or change himself.  Morgan also confided in her cousin, Haley McCaffery.

"However, no one truly could have imagined that any of it would lead to her death,” Haley McCaffery said. "Which is exactly why we are out in the community educating on what we didn’t know until it was too late."

The McCaffery family started the nonprofit "Morgan's Light" to bring attention to toxic teen relationships and dating violence to young people by sharing Morgan's story, warning signs and other resources through presentations and "student ambassadors" in local high schools and colleges, McCaffery said.

"The biggest thing we want teens and young adults to know right now is that you are not alone, and you are not responsible for another person’s happiness," she added. "Always put your safety first, lean in to your support system, and for those who are the support system, it is OK to reach out for help if you don’t know how to directly help a loved one."

To encourage more young adults to reach out with questions or concerns , domestic violence organizations are also stepping up outreach efforts targeting them.

In Bucks County, A Woman’s Place has a young adult advisory board that focuses on dating violence awareness among their peers, as well as a web page offering online resources geared to teens and young adults .

Agencies are also using the digital platforms that young people are most familiar and comfortable with to promote awareness and available assistance.

In 2021 Laurel House launched an anonymous text message hotline modeled after the national anti-dating violence program. People who text 8511 or HOPE, are connected with a victim advocate to talk about safety planning, Dougherty said.

The agency has found young adults are the primary users of the text line, she added.

The agency sees an uptick in its use after dating violence and healthy relationship presentations at schools, Dougherty said. Some texts come from individuals asking if their behavior is abusive, she added.

How adults can protect young people from toxic relationships

How to deal with toxic young love Inside the secret world of young adult dating violence.

In addition to new youth-centered outreach, agencies are also expanding dating violence education efforts among the adults in their lives.

In surveys, most U.S. adults say they can recognize signs of dating violence among young people, but more than half could not correctly identify all the abuse warning signs, according to the  Center Against Sexual & Family Violence in Texas.

Parents and other adults should initiate conversations about what healthy relationships look like before their kids start dating, so they build trust in “safe adults” they can go to with questions, Sturman said.

For the last two years, Laurel House has run a counseling support group for adult family members and parents concerned that a loved one is in a toxic relationship where they brainstorm ways to best support suspected abuse victims Sturman said.

Often when a person realizes a friend or family member is in a potentially dangerous relationship, the temptation is to try and intervene, Sturman said. But that approach can have unintended consequences of pushing the person deeper into the relationship with the abuser, she said.

“It is always helpful for people to realize that they are not the only family going through this kind of situation, and to be able to continue to learn and reinforce what they have already learned,” Sturman added.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Murder of Jaden Battista focuses attention on teen dating violence