The sisters of an Irish woman shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide in New York have urged those in abusive relationships to “get out”.
Lisa and Shannon Morgan spoke out about the alleged abuse their sister Denise (39) suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Joed Taveras, in a bid to “raise awareness about domestic violence”.
Originally from Tullyallen in Co Louth, Denise was found dead at a property in Queens, New York City last month.
The New York Police Department said 'a firearm was recovered in the vicinity of (a) deceased male', who they identified as Mr Taveras (33).
Lisa and Shannon claim Mr Taveras, a former US soldier, subjected Denise to a “relentless cycle of abuse, attempting to control every aspect of her life”.
They told RTÉ Prime Time that Denise had only revealed the extent of his controlling behaviour shortly before her death.
“We knew she was in a bad situation, and she kept telling us, ‘no, it's okay,” said Shannon.
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She added: "That's the guilt that's gonna live with us forever as knowing what could have been".
Denise had initially moved to New York seven years ago with her ex-husband, American chef Larry Zaitschek (55), once wanted by police over his alleged role in the Castlereagh break-in, and daughter.
After the marriage ended amicably, she became involved with Mr Taveras.
But Denise's sisters said he subjected her to years of coercive abuse, which became increasingly physical in recent months.
"Get out of that situation... you have to get out."
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) November 21, 2023
The sisters of Denise Morgan, an Irish woman murdered in New York one month ago, tell Barry Cummins why they feel compelled to be 'Denise's voice', and help other victims of domestic violence.#rtept | @RTENews pic.twitter.com/E651LNdzQD
They said Denise claimed he had tried to strangle her in the weeks before her death and held a knife to her throat during another incident.
Shannon said Denise “found out that he was cheating on her, that’s when it started getting physical”.
“He knew that she was leaving him, he just couldn’t handle that,” he said.
Shannon said Mr Taveras "shot her in the back of the head, she tried to run away from him, she screamed 'no' while he shot her".
"The detective told us everything, what the neighbours reported, there was fighting and then there was the gunshot, and 10 seconds later there was a second gunshot," she said.
The sisters are speaking out about Denise in a bid to raise awareness about domestic abuse.
"Don’t hide anything from your family, sometimes as women we tend to ignore this behaviour - the jealousy, the controlling - and you’re embarrassed to speak out about it because you know that you’re going to go back to the abuser," said Shannon.
"It's shame, it's embarrassing.
"She knew that she had to get out, but unfortunately she didn’t get time to get out.
"They’re never going to change, walk when you see the red flags.
"The first couple of months with someone you can tell how they’re going to behave in a relationship, which he did, he did show it, he was always jealous."
Lisa added: "I'd go to send her a Snapchat... you just forget.
"It's not right, no family should ever have to go through this."
