Domestic violence accounted for half of the homicides committed so far in 2005.

Twenty-seven people were killed during the first half of the year, according to records kept by the Deseret Morning News, the same number of homicides recorded during the first six months of 2004.

Half of this year's slayings were allegedly committed by someone closely associated with the victim or involved in a domestic dispute. Two of the victims were younger than 3 years old.

In June alone, five people, including an infant, were allegedly killed by a spouse, boyfriend, guardian or a person involved in a domestic argument.

Four of those incidents ended with the apparent killer committing suicide shortly afterward.

"There appears to be a growing number of perpetrators killing themselves," said Judy Kasten Bell, executive director of the Utah Domestic Violence Council. "I can't even begin to think what is going through people's minds at that point in time."

The most disturbing trend of all, however, may be the number of children who were present when the crimes were committed. In six of this year's homicides, children, most of them very young, were just feet away when the crimes occurred.

"When children witness domestic violence, the effect can last for generations," Salt Lake YWCA CEO Anne Burkholder said.

Six people have been slain in West Valley City so far this year, the most of any Utah city. Last year, West Valley had only one homicide in the first six months.

"I don't know what it is," said West Valley Police Capt. Steve Sandquist. "These things are so unpredictable, you don't know the cause."

Sandquist points to Sandy as an example, noting that one year ago the city had more homicides than West Valley. But only one homicide occurred in Sandy for 2003 and 2004 combined.

In some cases, Sandquist said, it was just by chance the victim ended up in West Valley.

Several homicide cases remained unsolved as of today. Three of them in particular gained some notoriety in the media.

• The body of Sheree Allen, 22, was found by a man going through a Dumpster near 3500 South and 1500 West on Jan. 24. Investigators determined Allen had been dead at least 24 hours.

• Aaron Dowdle and his friend Andrew Weston, both 15, were found severely beaten and left for dead April 1. Dowdle died from his injuries May 8.

• John D. Mayo was last seen in Salt Lake City in the area of 1021 S. Lake St. between May 30 and June 10, 2004. His dismembered remains were found spread over a seven-mile area April 18 on a frontage road off I-80 near the Utah-Wyoming border.

In the Dowdle case, South Salt Lake Police Capt. Tracy Tingey said leads were recently developed on possible suspects and investigators were in the process of gathering evidence.

"We're getting close to identifying suspects," Tingey said. "We hope in the very near future to be able to announce arrests."

In the Allen case, Sandquist said, tidbits of information are still coming into his office.

"We're still working it. It's not a cold case," he said.

Likewise, the Mayo investigation was still an active case in Summit County.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com