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Kimberly Mitchell-Read did exactly what experts suggested and still she was shot to death, an advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault victims said Thursday.

Mitchell-Read applied for a protective order and then filed for divorce because her husband was abusive toward her, said Marcia Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Coalition against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She was speaking during the organization's legislative awareness day at the state Capitol.

In October 2006, about a month after her divorce, Mitchell-Read went to her Woodward home, where, according to police reports, Louie Benson shot and killed her before killing himself.

Mitchell-Read was 41.

Her mother, Betty Mitchell of Woodward, said she noticed the bruises on her daughter, but they were always explained away as the result of a fall.

"We couldn't see through this man because he was being good in front of us,” Mitchell said. "He was so jealous of her.”

Mitchell said her daughter had two daughters from a previous marriage.

She and Benson were married about three years.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson told the crowd that legislators, judges and prosecutors must treat sexual abuse and domestic violence seriously.

"There is no more important issue than breaking the cycle of violence and making our homes safe,” he said. "It's good government, it will stop crimes from being created down the road if we can break the cycle. Children who witness violent acts are more likely to commit violent crimes in the future.”

Edmondson, a former Muskogee district attorney, said it's frustrating for prosecutors when domestic abuse victims change their minds and don't pursue charges, "but they've got to stick with it.

"The victim needs to be empowered to make decisions, and if not, the next thing (the prosecutor is) going to be working is a homicide.”

A state Health Department study showed about 244,000 women have been abused or sexually assaulted by a current or former partner in the state, with about 13,000 reporting being raped in a year, Smith said.

Smith said programs for sexual abuse and domestic violence received a $500,000 funding request last year, the first in 13 years. Programs also received about $1 million from a fee on all criminal and civil court filings.

More than two dozen state-certified programs across the state receive about $4.5 million in state funding plus the $1 million in court filing fees. Advocates are seeking another $1.5 million in annual state funding.