The specialized prosecution of domestic violence cases in Lancaster County started on Susan Ellison’s watch, in 1996 when Ellison was the lone Assistant District Attorney in the newly formed unit.

The prosecution of domestic violence will continue in Lancaster County, but Ellison’s final case has been cleared.

Ellison retired Friday – 29 years after joining the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office as a legal intern.

She spent her entire career in Lancaster County prosecuting domestic abusers and helping victims on the difficult journey to escape the influence of their abusive partner, parent or relative.

“I find it horribly offensive that people physically harm or victimize the people they claim as loved ones,” Ellison said in her final week working at the courthouse.

Yet, domestic violence is pervasive everywhere, a universal issue stretching far beyond Lancaster County.

Last year, District Attorney Heather Adams’ Domestic Violence Unit prosecuted 766 cases under Ellison’s guidance.

Ellison credits her team of five attorneys, two advocates, a paralegal and county detective.

PROSECUTOR FROM THE START

The caseload has doubled from when Ellison was the lone DV prosecutor back in the 1990s.

Starting as a legal intern in 1992, Ellison clerked for a year in family court with the late Judge Henry Kenderdine Jr. before taking an Assistant District Attorney position in September 1993.

Ellison knew she wanted to be a prosecutor to help rehabilitate victims and hold offenders accountable.

The strength restored to victims through a prosecution course was the driving force behind the difficult cases that became Ellison’s life’s work.

Domestic violence is often a recidivist issue, with escalating behavior from the abuser over time. Intervention and separation are crucial in protecting victims, who frequently return to their abusers.

Ellison saw the positive transformation of one woman early on in her career.

An elderly woman who had been financially and emotionally controlled by her husband for years survived the ultimate escalation of partner abuse: a stabbing attack in 1995 that nearly claimed the woman’s life.

The charge was attempted homicide and Ellison was tasked with seeking justice for the victim.

“The first time I met with her,” Ellison recalled, “she could barely talk to me or look me in the eye.”

Time – and separation from her husband – had healing powers. Ellison watched her become “completely different woman,” self-sufficient and independent.

“She was so proud of herself just because she took the bus into the city by herself, and she had enough money to buy a small Christmas present for her son,” Ellison said. “And this woman didn’t want that much – just a small amount of peace in her life.”

“She made me realize how resilient chronically abused victims could be.”

BUILDING A SYSTEM

Ellison’s passion and commitment paid off. Lancaster County’s DV Unit and prosecutorial process have been recognized statewide and nationally over the years.

Lancaster County was chosen for a STOP grant pilot program in 1996, launching a countywide collaboration between police, prosecutors, and victim service agencies. The model here was recognized by the National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges Full Faith and Credit Project.

District Attorney Heather Adams congratulated Ellison on a “remarkable” career.

“We salute ADA Ellison for her expertise and dedication to special victims in Lancaster County,” DA Adams said.

Ellison also established the Domestic Violence Police Response Protocol for area law enforcement, an evidence-based approached to handling domestic violence incidents. All area police officers responding to DV calls are trained under the protocol.

Most recently, Ellison was an integral player in the inception of Domestic Violence Court, a centralized prosecution path to fast-track DV cases so victims have access to immediate assistance and offenders are held accountable in court and referred to treatment.

In other words, Ellison helped lay a systematic foundation across the county.

But there will always be the individual cases that stay with her.

Like the woman who escaped her abusive husband in the golden years of her life.

Like 18-year-old college student Karlie Hall, who was not as fortunate: she was killed in her dorm room in 2015 by boyfriend Gregorio Orrostieta. Ellison won a third-degree murder conviction at trial.

But Ellison is most proud of the unit she built and will pass to ADA Amy Muller who takes over as supervisor, leading ADAs Gregory Seiders, Samantha Laverty, Mari Hambright, and Courtney Restemayer.

Advocates Ellen Bolen and Vanessa Badillo, Paralegal Kymberly McKivison, and County Detective Brent Shultz complement the unit.

“It is easier to leave when I know I am leaving all the things I have worked for in good hands,” Ellison said.

Days once filled with emotional conversations with victims and in-court battles will be spent traveling (as soon as she can) and at home with the dog she plans to adopt.