DENVER — Jing Tesoriero’s son, Ty, had his life cut short by domestic violence. It’s a tragedy that sparked a more than yearlong Denver7 investigation and has since forever changed Colorado’s domestic violence laws.
“I want his death to have some meaning and I feel that Ty is smiling somewhere. … I think he would be happy to see this all happening,” Jing said.
Governor Jared Polis signed Ty’s law — HB-1099 — into law last month. The bill forever changes Colorado’s domestic violence laws by creating a new definition of child abuse, one that includes domestic violence and does not currently exist in state statue.
“These stories are not unique,” said Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Adams County.
The law also mandates better training for caseworkers to identify all kinds of abuse.
“When 40% of our child abuse cases result in death, we know there’s a problem,” Zenzinger said.
Nearly two years since Ty Tesoriero, 10, was murdered by his father in September 2019, Jing Tesoriero’s life looks a lot different.
She’s remarried to Douglas Holberger and has two little girls: Tylee, 8 months, and Chloe, 3.
“They’re fun. This is the best age,” Jing said of her daughters.
But it wasn’t always like this. Multiple Denver7 Investigations uncovered how social services failed to protect her son from his abusive father.
“It was very traumatic, very mentally exhausting process for me to go through, and for Ty as well,” Jing said.
And now Jing’s pain and her story have brought change at the highest level.
The Denver7 investigations found child services was ill-equipped to manage domestic violence abusers in custody cases, especially when the abuse isn’t physical, but psychological, as was the case with Jing and Ty.
“You brought the story to the public,” Michaelson Jenet said.
“I really want to thank you for that, because without you, nobody would know this story. You actually brought it to other people’s attention and the politicians’ attention,” Jing said.
For Jing, her son’s memory lives on. His room remains just as it was and his pictures still hang on the wall.
“He’s going to be here,” she said.
And while her two daughters don’t yet understand what happened, Jing said they will always know their brother Ty.
“We’re not discussing what happened yet, but they know they have a big brother,” Jing said.
Jing said she knows Ty would have wanted a better future for kids like him.
“I hope it means that the kids in Colorado can be safer,” she said.
A task force has until late next year to come back with a new definition of child abuse. Jing said she hopes this is only the beginning of policy change to better protect Colorado kids.
