Get Help to Avoid Tragedy

Criminal prosecution for attempted murder seems a tragically inadequate response to the case of Narinder Virk, a 40-year-old immigrant Indian woman accused of trying to drown her two children.

Virk was arrested in January after she, her 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son were pulled from the cold, dark water of Channel Island Harbor. Police allege that Virk awakened her children around 2 a.m., marched them two blocks to the harbor, pushed them off a dock, jumped in and held them under water. A nearby resident, awakened by the boy’s cries, came to their rescue.

Virk’s trial was postponed last week after she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her attorney says her client was suicidal after being abused and abandoned by her husband and snapped after he boarded a plane for India with plans to divorce her.

The couple moved to the United States about eight years ago and had been in Port Hueneme for two years. During that time, Deputy Public Defender Christina Briles told The Times, Virk was beaten and neglected and was unable to seek help because of language and cultural barriers. Since her arrest, Indian organizations and Sikh temples throughout Southern California have rallied to her support, arguing that cultural factors lie at the heart of the case. Their fund-raising efforts allowed Virk to post bail of $500,000 Wednesday.

Narinder Virk is the fourth Ventura County woman in the past year to raise domestic abuse as a defense to serious felony charges. The others are:

* Gabriela Hernandez of Oxnard was convicted of murder for the 1996 beating death of her 2-year-old daughter, Joselin. An appellate court overturned that verdict, ruling that the trial judge erred when he barred testimony from experts who concluded that she was suffering from battered women’s syndrome. Ventura County prosecutors plan to retry her.

* Socorro “Cora” Caro of the Santa Rosa Valley has entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in the Nov. 22 shooting deaths of her three oldest sons. During a preliminary hearing, Caro’s mother testified that her daughter had been a victim of domestic abuse, an allegation Caro’s husband has denied.

* Gladis Soto of Ventura was convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting her sleeping husband and dismembering him in 1999, despite defense evidence that she had been raped and battered by him over the years.

It is tragic when fear or frustration builds to the point that striking back violently appears to be the only way out.

Fortunately, in Ventura County there are other answers. One way to seek help is to call one of the hotlines staffed 24 hours a day by the nonprofit Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence:

* English: 656-1111

* Spanish: (800) 300-2181

* TDD for the hearing impaired: 656-4439

* Anger management hotline: 656-4861

Clearly, violence cannot be condoned as a response to domestic discord, even heinous abuse. When violent acts occur, it is proper for the justice system to weigh the circumstances and the law and determine whether punishment is merited.

Far better to seek help before things reach that point. For more information about Coalition services, call 983-6014 or visit the Web site at https://www.thecoalition.org.