Sadly, there can be more than one. 
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Beat me to it.
Saying this basically absolves him with the fundamentalists - who believe you can go commit a murder then ask for forgiveness through prayer.
Infuriating.
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He doesn’t mean it, it’s just locker-room alcohol-fuelled domestic violence. Men are just like that.
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The prosecution has much the same resources to work from as in a murder investigation, which is what too many of these domestic violence cases end up as, anyway.
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As mentioned, it’d be treated similarly to a murder case. We’re talking about cases where the police have already become involved, so there’s already evidence that can be used in a case, regardless of whether the victims (continue to) cooperate or not.
Already, technically, whether a victim presses charges or not is a separate issue from whether a prosecutor decides to pursue a case - it’s just that police and prosecutors are overly willing to drop domestic violence cases if the victims have become uncooperative (assuming they themselves weren’t discouraging the victim from coming forward). The change is essentially only to stop letting police and prosecutors (who are lazy and/or sympathetic to the abusers) off the hook.
As for whether this would be particularly difficult - well, the clearance rate for murders is actually shockingly low (as little as 26% in some cities, and little more than half nationally), but we haven’t given up on prosecuting murder.
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As I said, I am all for it when possible. I just think it is going to be pretty difficult in practice even in cases that are already brought to the attention of the police.
There are a couple of key differences in a murder trial. You typically have a body. Which is evidence by itself and can also be examined for DNA evidence and the like since bodies can’t object. Its the US, so it might also have bullet holes which leave behind evidence that punching or threatening doesn’t. Another likely difference is the testimony and cooperation of the victims friends and family. If the victim is still alive and doesn’t want to cooperate, it may be difficult to get their friends and family to do so. If the victim is deceased, they may be less concerned with keeping private things told in confidence.
You might be pleased to learn that loved ones are often quite happy to stand up and testify for their abused daughter/sister/best friend in order to get justice for them, ESPECIALLY when the victim is too afraid to do it themselves.
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They would appoint her husband in this case. He being in their mind her legal owner. I mean guardian. Yeah whatever. It wouldnt go well for victims or spousal abuse to have a gaurdian ad litem…
I foresee a sad ending to this.
To paraphrase one of the anecdotes out of Mark Baker’s excellent book “Cops”.
We brought in the suspect and charged him with homicide. He said “What do you mean homicide?” We told him your wife is dead. He said “What do you mean she’s dead? I’ve punched her out hundreds of times before and she never died before.”.
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Regardless, sympathy to the Mrs., complicity and all.
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