Published by admin on 30 Aug 2008
Associated Press – August 29, 2008 4:45 PM ET
LAMPASAS, Texas (AP) – A Fort Hood soldier was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a murder-for-hire plot in which his wife was shot to death.
40-year-old Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Dean Gower was sentenced yesterday after jurors convicted him of capital murder.
His wife Hidi Gower was killed last summer outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars pool hall.
Published by admin on 28 Aug 2008
By Alan King
BALTIMORE (NNPA) – Bishop Cephas Richardson is a man who wears many hats —as a volunteer at a homeless shelter, an assistant at a civic association and as pastor of a Pentecostal church on West Baltimore Street.
But despite his activism and wide-ranging community involvement, Richardson had never considered volunteering his service as an advocate against domestic violence. That is, until his neighbor, Patricia Marble, was murdered on July 11 and her boyfriend, Sampson Ashby, was arrested by police as the prime suspect.
The couple had argued that day outside of their apartment building in the 1100 block of Gleneagle Road, according to the police report. Ashby, 27, had taken some sort of item from Marble, 28, and attempted to drive off in a red Ford truck before she climbed halfway through the driver’s side window to retrieve the item.
With Marble still hanging out of the window, the police report says, Ashby crashed the driver’s side of his truck into a telephone pole in an alley behind the apartment and drove off, leaving Marble’s body lying in the narrow backstreet. MM
The Voice
Published by admin on 28 Aug 2008
By Connie Leonard
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – WAVE 3 has uncovered disturbing new information in the murder of a Pleasure Ridge Park woman. On the same day 68-year old William “Gerry” Seidl was arraigned in his wife’s murder, WAVE 3 obtained new court documents and courtroom video. Both show that a judge denied a domestic violence order for the victim even though she had been granted one by another judge in the past who felt her life was in danger.
One day after a judge denied to grant Dorene Seidl a domestic violence order, Gerry Seidl picked up his guns from authorities. Three days after that, police say Seidl shot and killed his wife.
“She had three judicial findings of domestic violence,” said Marcia Roth, a victim’s advocate with the Mary Byron Foundation.
Published by admin on 25 Aug 2008
Shelter Agencies for Families in East Texas is revitalizing its focus on domestic abuse education after a recent community workshop shed light on just how many people and organizations are still unaware about violence and services offered to the area.
New education goals stem from the workshop, which focused on SAFE-T’s newest project n Ounce of Prevention. The program works with representatives from the faith-based community, educators, health care professionals, business and civil service leaders to find ways to prevent domestic violence.
More than two dozen Titus County community members attended the workshop, offering suggestions for education in the workplace, at schools, and in churches.
The program took off in Morris County last year, but progress has been slower in Titus County, said Judy Hammonds, SAFE-T prevention educator.
DailyTribune.net
Published by admin on 25 Aug 2008
by Christa Lollis
LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) – Domestic violence and assault cases have been on the rise in East Texas in the last year.
With the holidays just a few months away, the Family Crisis Center is prepared for more victims seeking shelter. Joann Black with the center says, “If we look at all the numbers for the past however many years, look at the statistics for the agencies during the holiday season our numbers of clients, they do go up, they do increase and it’s because the holiday season is very stressful.”
Published by admin on 22 Aug 2008
WELLS, Maine — Kathy McKenney of Kittery said she was 15 years old when she met the man who she would later marry and remained with for 24 years in an abusive relationship.
“I wish I’d had a teacher say to me, ‘Why do you have bruises on your face?’ But no one ever did,” she said.
York police Lt. Charles Szeniawski said he’s been an officer for 30 years. In all that time, while law enforcement and court response to domestic violence has change dramatically, the incidents haven’t diminished. “It just doesn’t go away,” he said.
Maine Commissioner of Public Safety Anne Jordan listened to Szeniawski, McKenney and about two dozen people, primarily police officers and domestic violence advocates, about efforts in York County to deal with the issue.
Published by admin on 20 Aug 2008
A 7-year veteran of the Fort Worth police department was arrested Monday afternoon on allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend at her apartment earlier this month.
Ernesto Flores was charged with assault with bodily injury (family violence). His girlfriend told Fort Worth police that he assaulted her on the morning of Aug. 3, said Lt. Ken Dean, a police spokesman.
Mr. Flores was placed on restricted duty while an investigation is undertaken, Lt. Dean said.
Mr. Flores was booked into the Fort Worth jail Monday evening and released on a $2,500 bond.
He is the second Fort Worth police officer to be arrested in less than a week.
Published by admin on 20 Aug 2008
By Kenya N. Byrd
After a whirlwind courtship, fairy-tale wedding and two years of marriage, the First Lady of Turks & Caicos and actress LisaRaye McCoy-Misick and Premier Michael Misick have separated and are headed for divorce court.
On August 14, 2008, McCoy-Misick was taken to the island’s police department by her publicist, Lynn Jeter of Lynn Allen Jeter and Associates, and her personal bodyguard and cousin, Phillip Travis.
The former star of sitcom “All of Us” spent nearly seven hours filing a report following an alleged altercation between herself, husband Misick, the couple’s personal security, and Jeter, that took place on August 13 at the presidential palace, the premier’s mansion. When contacted by ESSENCE.com, Misick’s office had no comment.
According to Jeter, the actress had returned to Turks & Caicos for a scheduled meeting with her and Misick’s lawyers in hopes to reach a temporary spousal-support agreement until their divorce is finalized. The Chi-town native believed all had gone well until she learned that Misick and his lawyer reneged on the settlement. It wasn’t until she returned to the presidential palace, where she stayed in a separate bedroom the week prior, that, for unknown reasons, she was refused entry and allegedly physically forced to leave the property, Jeter explains.
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