Agapito Lao Found Guilty of the Strangulation Death of His Wife

A Boston man has been convicted a second time of strangling his estranged wife.

Prosecutors say 50-year-old Agapito Lao was found guilty in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday of first-degree murder for beating and strangling 40-year-old Alicia Lao in her Chelsea apartment on May 2, 2000. She died about two weeks later.

Authorities say he killed her two days after she filed for divorce because she was involved in another relationship...


**Blog author note: I will keep saying it: Violence escalates when the victim finally decides to leave. It is not the beginning of abuse, but merely the continuation of it--even if a history of violence is unknown to family and friends. Judges must continue to issue protective orders when women ask for them. Law enforcement must act quickly upon violations. Safety plans must be in place.

We must stop this fixation on "false allegations."**