In the span of 75 minutes, three people were killed in Oakland on Thursday morning, allegedly in the heat of domestic violence blowups.

At around 5:15 a.m., according to KTVU, a security guard "said he was patrolling the neighborhood near the 4500 block of Penniman Ave. around 5:15 a.m. when a man walked and said he had shot his wife." Private security officer Len Montalvo told KTVU, "I came around the corner and a fella just put up his hands .. I asked him ‘What’s going on?’ He said: ‘I just killed my wife.’ He had blood all over him.”

Then, according to CBS 5/BCN, "at 6:31 a.m., police received a report of a shooting in the 8300 block of International Boulevard. They arrived to find two people dead, a male and a female." The former dead of a gunshot wound, the latter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The case is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

Remember, if your partner beats the crap out of you (or just smacks you around a bit on the occasional game-day loss), he or she will probably kill you. Well, maybe; we're basing our research off of Lifetime movies. Anyway, contrary to the Dr. Phil-ization of the world, it almost always gets worse, even if you consider yourself a well-educated, smart, white liberal. Domestic violence bleeds into every social and economic crevice. If you need help escaping a violent situation -- or before you foolishly bring a child into your toxic mix -- please visit Family Violence Prevention Fund. They can help you out in no time.