Post by lace on Oct 15, 2006 21:34:39 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Sunday, 10/15/06
Domestic violence victims remembered with tears
Families gather for annual service [/glow]:
Gallatin,TN,USA
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
[glow=red,2,300]The message on a little boy's T-shirt said, "Miss you mom.'' [/glow]
It was written below a pressed photograph of 25-year-old Samantha Knight, a mother of five who was shot and killed in May by her former boyfriend, who also killed himself.
As her name was read out loud Saturday morning at the Shelby Avenue pedestrian bridge downtown, the 7-year-old boy's grandmother wept. She and other family members threw long
stemmed red roses into the Cumberland River below to
commemorate a woman who they said loved life.
They bowed their heads. The only sound that could be heard was their sniffling.
"I feel emptiness, loss," said Knight's mother, Barbara Horton. "I feel loss that she won't be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. … Her boyfriend, that's what hurts so bad. I trusted him. I treated him like he was my son."
Knight was among seven people — two men and five women — who were victims of domestic-violence homicides in the past 12 months in Nashville, Metro police said. They were remembered at the second annual Meet Us at the Bridge ceremony sponsored by The Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
A few of those who came clutched framed photographs of their loved ones, holding them close to their hearts. Others wore buttons with pictures of the victims or T-shirts displaying happy faces of a mother or a sister.
The event drew about 40, including Metro police officers and community leaders, some of whom were recognized for their efforts in eradicating domestic violence in Nashville homes.
Capt. Rita Baker, who's in charge of the domestic violence division of Metro police, said the department received more than 17,000 domestic violence reports in the past year.
"It's not a huge number for us, I'm sad to say," she said. "If you consider that an average victim will be battered seven times before she reaches out for help, 17,000 is a low number compared to reality."
Meanwhile, Holly Anderson said her sister, April Anderson, 39, broke the cycle of abuse for a while. She was stabbed to death Nov. 20, 2005. Her body was discovered three days later. Her boyfriend was charged and is to stand trial in March.
"I was thinking about her two kids," Holly Anderson said after tossing a rose into the Cumberland River. "My younger nephew will never have her there to see him graduate from high school. I'm just angry," she said, crying. •
www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061015/NEWS01/610150360/1309/MTCN04
Domestic violence victims remembered with tears
Families gather for annual service [/glow]:
Gallatin,TN,USA
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
[glow=red,2,300]The message on a little boy's T-shirt said, "Miss you mom.'' [/glow]
It was written below a pressed photograph of 25-year-old Samantha Knight, a mother of five who was shot and killed in May by her former boyfriend, who also killed himself.
As her name was read out loud Saturday morning at the Shelby Avenue pedestrian bridge downtown, the 7-year-old boy's grandmother wept. She and other family members threw long
stemmed red roses into the Cumberland River below to
commemorate a woman who they said loved life.
They bowed their heads. The only sound that could be heard was their sniffling.
"I feel emptiness, loss," said Knight's mother, Barbara Horton. "I feel loss that she won't be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. … Her boyfriend, that's what hurts so bad. I trusted him. I treated him like he was my son."
Knight was among seven people — two men and five women — who were victims of domestic-violence homicides in the past 12 months in Nashville, Metro police said. They were remembered at the second annual Meet Us at the Bridge ceremony sponsored by The Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
A few of those who came clutched framed photographs of their loved ones, holding them close to their hearts. Others wore buttons with pictures of the victims or T-shirts displaying happy faces of a mother or a sister.
The event drew about 40, including Metro police officers and community leaders, some of whom were recognized for their efforts in eradicating domestic violence in Nashville homes.
Capt. Rita Baker, who's in charge of the domestic violence division of Metro police, said the department received more than 17,000 domestic violence reports in the past year.
"It's not a huge number for us, I'm sad to say," she said. "If you consider that an average victim will be battered seven times before she reaches out for help, 17,000 is a low number compared to reality."
Meanwhile, Holly Anderson said her sister, April Anderson, 39, broke the cycle of abuse for a while. She was stabbed to death Nov. 20, 2005. Her body was discovered three days later. Her boyfriend was charged and is to stand trial in March.
"I was thinking about her two kids," Holly Anderson said after tossing a rose into the Cumberland River. "My younger nephew will never have her there to see him graduate from high school. I'm just angry," she said, crying. •
www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061015/NEWS01/610150360/1309/MTCN04