October 2011

ONEVOICE: LIVE. THRIVE. BE FREE.

A Promise for Change . . .


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A Message from our Founder

L.Y. Marlow

 

I'm always torn this time of the year. Part because I am eager to honor domestic violence awareness month; and part because I believe domestic violence awareness month should be honored every day, and not just one month out of the year. In his recent Domestic Violence Proclamation, President Obama, could not have said it better when he said: Despite tremendous progress, an average of three women in America die as a result of domestic violence each day. One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. These statistics are even more sobering when we consider that domestic violence often goes unreported. . . the ramifications of domestic violence are staggering. Staggering, to say the least. This month, I would like to pay tribute to and honor all victims whose lives have been lost to domestic violence. The heartbreaking stories, featured in this issue, of six women who's lost their lives this year to domestic violence, reinforces just how very much we ALL need to honor domestic violence awareness month Every-Single-Day!

Elizabeth Velez Vasquez   

 

Elizabeth Velez Vasquez was killed February 9, 2011 by her husband, who stabbed her 79 times as she tried to escape through a window. Elizabeth was 33 years old.Bernardo Paz Flores-Olvera admitted to the murder upon his arrest and led police to her mangled and bloody body. He told police that he had gotten in an argument with Vasquez, who he suspected was cheating on him. He took a knife from the kitchen and chased Vasquez into a back bedroom where he cut her 74 times and stabbed her five times. Flores-Olvera sent one of the children, a 9-year-old, to a neighbor's house before the killing. The two remaining children, a 3-month old and a 2-year-old, were home when their father killed their mother. (read more)

Denise Fransua

    

Denise FransuaDenise Fransua was a single mother and probation officer with the 18th Judicial District in Parker, Colorado, assigned to supervise sex offenders. She had been with Douglas County's 18th Judicial District for eight years and her co-workers remember her as an intuitive probation officer who understood the dynamics of domestic violence. Ten months before her death, she ended a relationship with a boyfriend, Steven Romero, who lived with her and her two children for about seven years. She was killed May 17, 2011 after being shot in the back at Romero's home. She was 44 years old. (read more)

 

Jennifer Heeren-Dantzler

  

Jennifer Hereen

On July 7, 2011, Rodrick Dantzler fatally shot a former girlfriend, his estranged wife, his 12-year-old daughter and four others related to them, including his mother-in law. He then shot at four police officers as he led them on a 12-minute chase through Grand Rapids, Michigan. He wounded two people in downtown Grand Rapids during the chase and took three people hostage in a four-hour standoff. At one point he shot at a hostage. One was released before Dantzler killed himself. He told a friend who was with him that day that he was upset with his estranged wife, Jennifer Heeren-Dantzler, 29, because she had taken his 12-year-old daughter for three days and not returned her. (read more)

Cathy Fox

 

Cathy FoxOn Sept. 23, 2011, Milford Connecticut police were called to the gruesome scene where Kenneth Fox stabbed and choked his wife to death, knifed the family dog and then hanged himself. Cathy Fox was remembered at her memorial for all the wonderful things she accomplished in her life. In the church, there were three photographic montages. There was a young Cathy, her arms around an amusement park mascot. There was Cathy with her parents. Cathy taking the vows of marriage. Cathy frolicking with her children. And Cathy receiving her Mercy College teaching degree. (read more)

 

Diana Gonzalez

 

Diana GonzalezOne year after a San Diego City College student was brutally murdered inside a campus bathroom, the suspect -- her estranged husband -- remains a fugitive. Armando Gabriel Perez was charged with killing Diana Gonzalez days after her body was found. But weeks before the murder, Perez allegedly kidnapped, raped and choked the 19-year-old. Police arrested him. But District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis did not press charges. After Gonzalez's murder, Dumanis said the original case lacked proof even though a police report showed injuries and evidence of choking. Dumanis promised a review of the case but later declined to make it public. (read more)

 

Randy 'Amanda' Lehrer
 

Amanda LehrerIn a truly horrifying case, the remains of Randy 'Amanda' Lehrer were found encased in a concrete drum in the basement of the New Jersey home she shared with her husband and daughter. Her husband, Steven Acuna now faces murder charges. Police say Acuna reported Lehrer missing on August 17, 2011 after an argument. The couple's 11-month-old daughter is now in the care of Acuna's parents. Witnesses say they saw Lehrer arguing with her husband the day she disappeared. (read more)