The economic recession is at least partially to blame for an increase in domestic violence in the Santa Fe area this summer, the city's domestic and sexual violence prevention coordinator said Thursday.

"That's gonna be an influencing factor," Carol Horwitz said. "I just think it's a really hard time for people and it's manifesting itself with violence."

Already this spring and summer, a man shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend and the 9-month-old fetus she was carrying, another man beat up his 3-months-pregnant girlfriend and threatened to kill her, while another man threw a pan of boiling water on his ex-girlfriend.

Now, in Española's first homicide in more than two years, a 20-year-old man is charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend — the mother of his 3-year-old son — in the neck.

"That's a lot of really intense violence in a short time," Horwitz said, adding that a young man was killed last month in an alleged gang fight. "The temper in our community is very volatile."

Sharon Pino, the governor's domestic violence czar, said the stories she's hearing from across the state in recent months also indicate the severity of domestic violence is increasing.

"It seems like it's reaching a whole new level," Pino said.

While Pino said she has heard speculation that the economy is contributing to the increase, she pointed out that an economic slowdown doesn't cause domestic violence.

"It's certainly a factor in exacerbating the violence," she said. "It could make an already violent situation become more violent."

The latest incident occurred July 17. Jasmin Gayatan, 19, was taken to Española Hospital with what turned out to be a gunshot wound to the right side of her neck, Española Detective Christian Lopez said. She was lifeless when her boyfriend and neighbor brought her in about 5:45 p.m., Lopez said, and she was officially pronounced dead about a half-hour later.

Her boyfriend, Leroy Fresquez Jr., 20, initially claimed that Gayatan was hit in a drive-by shooting as she lay on a bed at Fresquez's mother's home in Española, he said.

The detective said he immediately was suspicious of the story because of the location of the gunshot wound. Those suspicions proved accurate when Fresquez's mother approached Lopez in the hospital parking lot and said her son had something to tell him.

"He walks up and says, 'I did it. I shot her,' " Lopez said. "I said, 'I know. There's no way she was shot in a drive-by shooting.' "

Fresquez told Lopez that he bought the .45-caliber handgun on the street recently and was playing with the trigger when it went off and the bullet struck Gayatan. Lopez said he doesn't buy that account because the angle of the bullet doesn't match Fresquez's story.

"I don't think this was just an accident," he said. "I honestly believe there was more to it than him just messing with the gun."

Not long before the shooting, Gayatan filed a police report that Fresquez pulled a gun on her, Lopez said. Also, Gayatan's family has told police the couple had a history of domestic violence, including Fresquez threatening to kill her and knocking her out on at least one occasion, he said.

Gayatan had left Fresquez a few months ago because he was hooked on prescription pills, Lopez said.

The killing took place on the third birthday of the couple's son, Lopez said. The boy, who is staying with Fresquez's relatives, was not present during the shooting, he said.

Fresquez has been charged with murder and tampering with evidence, while his mother, Joyce Fresquez, has been charged with tampering with evidence. Lopez said police believe Joyce Fresquez and another man named James "Boxer" Maes, 23, may have helped dispose of the murder weapon, which has not been found. Investigators can't find Maes, he said.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.