SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken implied homicides make the headlines just like plane crashes.

“The media doesn’t cover planes landing safely,” TenHaken said during Tuesday’s presentation of on 2024 crime data in the city.

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Forty-five thousand planes landed safely on Monday and one flipped on its back, the Mayor said.

“What’s the lead story today, the one that flipped on its back,” he said.

The city had a record of 16 homicides in 2024.

“I understand why we talk about homicides because they’re crime stories and people want to hear about crime stories but we are still a very safe community overall,” TenHaken said. The per-capita crime rate is the best indicator of how safe the community is, he said.

“We’re the safest we’ve been since pre-COVID. That’s the headline, Sioux Falls is the safest we’ve been since before COVID,” TenHaken said.

Multiple research reports and crime data say that on average, the risk of murder per capita in the U.S. is low. It is the least common crime in the U.S. The risk can still increase depending on age, race and other factors, including exposure or history of domestic violence in a relationship. Often, perpetrators and victims in homicides know each other, according to data.

A review of the 16 homicides inside Sioux Falls city limits shows many of the suspects and victims knew each other. Some, were apparently in a domestic relationship or had some type of intimate relationship.

John Mitchell was arrested for the Oct. 15 beating death of Carie Coyle. Mitchell is now charged with premeditated first-degree murder. The two were apparently in a domestic relationship.

Jimmie Ledbetter, 55, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife Angie Ledbetter on Oct. 28.

In December, two men died after assaults from another man they had met on a dating app, according to court documents.

Juan Carlos Flores, 30, was arrested for stabbing a man to death in the victim’s home on Dec. 7. Authorities said the two men had met on a dating app the week before and had met several times.  Court documents say the two were doing drugs and then got into a fight where Flores stabbed the victim in the throat.

On Dec. 26, Sidney Rollings, 67 discharged a gun that hit victim Christopher McDaniel, 38. Rollings is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault. Court documents say Rollings told police he met McDaniel on a dating app three days earlier on Dec. 23, but phone messages show they started using the app on Dec. 22.  The victim went to Rollings’ house with the intention of having intercourse and injecting methamphetamine,” court documents say. 

It’s common for murder victims to know the perpetrator, according to national data.

In 2021, 76% of female murders and 56% of male murders were perpetrated by someone known to the victim, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics said in 2022.

Someone known can include an intimate partner.

Among homicides in the United States, intimate partners kill almost 50% of female and 10% of male victims, according to research from 2024 titled “Examining Intimate Partner Violence-Related Fatalities: Past Lessons and Future Directions Using U.S. National Data.”

The Bureau of Justice Statistics said in 2021 that 34% of female victims were killed by an intimate partner and about 6% of male victims were killed by an intimate partner.

A homicide can start with incidents of domestic violence.

A study by the University of Portsmouth in Canada studied intimate partner homicides and incidents in Quebec from 1990 to 2022.  The study showed that “on average, offenders committed two incidents of violence against their partner and seven other criminal events, with the first event happening in their early 30s.”

Domestic abuse data increases

Tuesday’s crime data showed that Sioux Falls had 446 reported domestic assault in 2024. That’s higher than the 420 in 2023 and lower than 471 in 2022. You can view the full crime statistics in the slides below.

PD-CS_February-2025-1Download

Domestic assault is often referred to as Intimate Partner Violence or IPV.

Research has shown that domestic violence or IPV can be underreported.

Most IPV incidents are not reported to the police – only 20% of rapes/sexual assaults, 25% of physical assaults, and 50% of stalking towards women, according to the Emery School of Medicine.

Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a model called PURPLE to help determine the underreporting of domestic assault incidents. A report on this model from June 24 said “intimate partner violence is notoriously underreported and correctly diagnosed at hospitals only around a quarter of the time.”

In Sioux Falls, authorities have accused Ledbetter of strangling his victim.

Mitchell is also accused of strangling his victim. Court documents said that according to witnesses, while conscious, the victim told them Mitchell had strangled and threatened to kill her.

One in four women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, and of those, up to 68% will suffer near-fatal strangulation at the hands of their partner, according to the Shelter for Abused Women and Children.

In 2009, research examined any possible connection between not-fatal strangulation with women who were homicide victims and attempted homicide victims. The research found that “Women who were the victims of completed or attempted homicide were far more likely to have a history of strangulation compared to the abused control women.”

In South Dakota law, strangulation is listed as an aggravated assault Class 3 felony. It is described as “Attempts to induce a fear of death or imminent serious bodily harm by impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of another person by applying pressure on the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose and mouth.”

Sioux Falls Police had 562 reported aggravated assaults in 2024.

Alcohol or drug use is involved in 40-60% of domestic abuse situations, according to the American Addiction Centers.

In the Dec. 26 case, the victim went to Rollings’ house with the intention of having intercourse and injecting methamphetamine,” court documents say.  In the Dec. 7 case, Flores is charged with stabbing the victim and court documents say that they had been using drugs.

Although the two December cases may not be technical domestic situations, according to court documents, there was an established intimate relationship in both.