The Question That Blames the Wrong Person — Monique Tepe Left McKee in Seven Months
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She recognized it fast. She got out fast. She filed for divorce. She moved. She did everything right. And according to prosecutors, it wasn't enough.
This episode takes on the question that every survivor dreads and every outsider asks: "Why didn't she just leave?" We dismantle each assumption behind it. The financial traps. The custody threats. The restraining orders that don't restrain. The trauma bonding that operates like addiction. The credibility gap. And the legal system that waits for the worst thing to happen before it acts.
Research consistently shows that separation is the highest-risk moment in domestic violence. Monique Tepe knew the danger and left anyway. The system failed what came after.
That question — "why didn't she just leave?" — places the weight of a crime on the victim. It assumes leaving was available, safe, and sufficient. None of those assumptions are reliable. And every time it gets asked, it tells every person currently trapped: if something happens to you, people will ask what you did wrong. Not what he did. Not what the system failed to do.
The question is broken. And it's aimed at the wrong person.
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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
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