Former soldier guilty of manslaughter of wife
October 25, 2012
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.
(AP) — A jury in Clarksville has found a former Fort Campbell soldier guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of his wife after he testified that he shot her multiple times when she provoked him.
After deliberating for nearly five hours, the jury on Thursday found Jonathan Downing guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, instead of a more serious first-degree premeditated murder charge
read more here
Showing posts with label domestic violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label domestic violence. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2012
Man charged with killing Fort Carson soldier Karen Mamo
Court document describes attempt to cover up shooting death
October 25, 2012
MATT STEINER
An argument between a wife and her estranged husband ended with a fatal gunshot and an attempt by the 26-year-old man to disguise the crime as a suicide, court records show.
Louis Mamo was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Fort Carson soldier Karen Mamo.
According to an arrest affidavit, the couple’s roommate described a sequence of events in which Louis Mamo apparently shot his wife late Monday night and told police six hours later that he came home to find Karen Mamo with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Police responded to the aparment at 3210 N. Chestnut St. in western Colorado Springs just before 6 a.m. Tuesday and found the woman lying against the side of her bed. There was a bullet hole in Karen Mamo’s head, but interviews with family members indicated the woman was right-handed while the wound was in the upper left side of her skull.
read more here
October 25, 2012
MATT STEINER
An argument between a wife and her estranged husband ended with a fatal gunshot and an attempt by the 26-year-old man to disguise the crime as a suicide, court records show.
Louis Mamo was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Fort Carson soldier Karen Mamo.
According to an arrest affidavit, the couple’s roommate described a sequence of events in which Louis Mamo apparently shot his wife late Monday night and told police six hours later that he came home to find Karen Mamo with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Police responded to the aparment at 3210 N. Chestnut St. in western Colorado Springs just before 6 a.m. Tuesday and found the woman lying against the side of her bed. There was a bullet hole in Karen Mamo’s head, but interviews with family members indicated the woman was right-handed while the wound was in the upper left side of her skull.
read more here
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PTSD On Trial:Downing murder trial begins
Downing murder trial begins
Accused of shooting wife multiple times in Sept. 2009
Oct 22, 2012
Written by
Tavia D. Green
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Jeremy Menear’s voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke before a jury Monday afternoon about the phone calls he received from his friend Jonathan Downing on Sept. 8, 2009, shortly after Downing shot his wife multiple times.
Menear was the first witness in the trial of Jonathan Clyde Downing, 35, who is charged with first-degree murder of his wife, 25-year-old Sena Marie Downing, who was shot nine to 10 times inside the couples’ 1705 Autumnwood Blvd. home.
Sena was found dead by police in the garage of the couple’s 1705 Autumnwood Blvd. home on Sept. 8, 2009. Following an argument, Downing allegedly shot his wife and fled, according to a previous report. The couple had reported domestic problems prior to the homicide.
read more here
Accused of shooting wife multiple times in Sept. 2009
Oct 22, 2012
Written by
Tavia D. Green
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Jeremy Menear’s voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke before a jury Monday afternoon about the phone calls he received from his friend Jonathan Downing on Sept. 8, 2009, shortly after Downing shot his wife multiple times.
Menear was the first witness in the trial of Jonathan Clyde Downing, 35, who is charged with first-degree murder of his wife, 25-year-old Sena Marie Downing, who was shot nine to 10 times inside the couples’ 1705 Autumnwood Blvd. home.
Sena was found dead by police in the garage of the couple’s 1705 Autumnwood Blvd. home on Sept. 8, 2009. Following an argument, Downing allegedly shot his wife and fled, according to a previous report. The couple had reported domestic problems prior to the homicide.
read more here
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Fort Hood Wages War Against Domestic Violence
Fort Hood Wages War Against Domestic Violence
KCEN.com
Posted: Oct 16, 2012
By Sophia Stamas
It's domestic violence awareness month, and Fort Hood is doing all it can to combat and prevent abuse.
It comes in all forms, and unfortunately, many times it's not reported.
That's why Fort Hood leaders are doing what they can to defend those who often can't defend themselves.
"We should rise up and stand in front of our victims and say to the abuser, No!" Christina Gindratt, a legal aid for victims, said at a ceremony at III Corps Headquarters today.
It was a message heard loud and clear, as Commanding General LTG Don Campbell signed a proclamation promising Fort Hood won't turn its back on domestic violence.
One in every four women will experience it and so will some men.
Christina has met many of them face to face.
She says the battle against abuse starts when someone speaks up for the victim.
"It takes everything a victim has to come into my office and say, 'I need you to help me with something,' and the majority of the time, they're able to do that because someone else brought them to me," said Christina.
Domestic violence can be verbal, physical, sexual or neglect.
read more here
KCEN.com
Posted: Oct 16, 2012
By Sophia Stamas
It's domestic violence awareness month, and Fort Hood is doing all it can to combat and prevent abuse.
It comes in all forms, and unfortunately, many times it's not reported.
That's why Fort Hood leaders are doing what they can to defend those who often can't defend themselves.
"We should rise up and stand in front of our victims and say to the abuser, No!" Christina Gindratt, a legal aid for victims, said at a ceremony at III Corps Headquarters today.
It was a message heard loud and clear, as Commanding General LTG Don Campbell signed a proclamation promising Fort Hood won't turn its back on domestic violence.
One in every four women will experience it and so will some men.
Christina has met many of them face to face.
She says the battle against abuse starts when someone speaks up for the victim.
"It takes everything a victim has to come into my office and say, 'I need you to help me with something,' and the majority of the time, they're able to do that because someone else brought them to me," said Christina.
Domestic violence can be verbal, physical, sexual or neglect.
read more here
Friday, October 12, 2012
Pendleton joins in on Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Pendleton joins in on Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Camp Pendleton
Public Affairs
Story by Cpl. Michelle Brinn
10/11/12
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - On average, three women in the United States lose their lives every day from domestic-violence incidents, according to President Barack Obama's 2012 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation.
In response, Camp Pendleton joined the national campaign this October to prevent such violence by heightening awareness and advertising intervention resources and programs.
Prevention and education specialist Stacey Willis said the base, with its programs to assist service members and their families cope with personal and family challenges, has adopted the "It takes All of Us" slogan to reinforce that everyone needs to be aware of domestic violence and should speak up when it happens.
"Domestic violence is allowed to continue when we keep silent about the problem. We must not keep silent about this issue," Willis said. "We all can strive to live a violence-free life within our homes and our communities."
read more here
Camp Pendleton
Public Affairs
Story by Cpl. Michelle Brinn
10/11/12
In response to the devasting effects caused by domestic abuse, Camp Pendleton joined the national campaign this October to prevent such violence by heightening awareness and advertising intervention resources and programs. The base has adopted the "It takes All of Us" slogan to reinforce that everyone needs to be aware of domestic violence and should speak up when it happens.
Help is available online at MilitaryOneSource or by phone at 1-800-342-9647.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - On average, three women in the United States lose their lives every day from domestic-violence incidents, according to President Barack Obama's 2012 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation.
In response, Camp Pendleton joined the national campaign this October to prevent such violence by heightening awareness and advertising intervention resources and programs.
Prevention and education specialist Stacey Willis said the base, with its programs to assist service members and their families cope with personal and family challenges, has adopted the "It takes All of Us" slogan to reinforce that everyone needs to be aware of domestic violence and should speak up when it happens.
"Domestic violence is allowed to continue when we keep silent about the problem. We must not keep silent about this issue," Willis said. "We all can strive to live a violence-free life within our homes and our communities."
read more here
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Is the Army doing enough to help PTSD soldiers?
The answer is, they are doing too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones.
PTSD Final Battle After War
When you think that USA has been working on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder associated with combat, you'll understand how far we should have gotten in reversing the suicide rate of our forces and our veterans. None of this is new.
It is not just a problem for the US military. Last night I was talking to a Bosnia veteran from the UK. He served many tours of duty and said that they are not getting the help they need. They do the best they can to help each other but all too often, they just can't do enough.
Canada has problems with their veterans. The US seems to have a bigger problem because of the size of our military, redeployments and the number of combat veterans.
As they wait for programs that actually do work, wait for real answers and to be told the truth, they get repeated failures from programs that have been pushed on them no matter what evidence comes out proving they do not work.
The Last Battle:
Is the Army doing enough to help soldiers suffering from mental health problems?
Sep 23, 2012
By Greg Barnes
Staff writer
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick stood in front of 14,000 soldiers on Fort Bragg in February with a message:
"We have got to stop the violence."
Just weeks before, Helmick had closed out the combat mission in Iraq and brought the troops home. Now, as he congratulated them for a job well done, he could not ignore some disturbing numbers. In just the past six weeks, he knew of six suicides and 25 accusations of spousal abuse.
Since Helmick retired in May, the violence at home has only gotten worse.
The Army has rolled out program after program aimed at identifying and helping soldiers suffering from mental health problems related to a decade of war.
Despite those efforts, figures show that soldiers and veterans continue to commit crimes and take their own lives in record numbers.
Through July, Fort Bragg had reported 13 suspected or confirmed cases of soldiers who committed suicide this year, the most of any military installation and on pace to far outstrip the 15 suicides recorded in 2011. Another 40 Fort Bragg soldiers tried to kill themselves between January and June of this year.
Nationwide, the 38 soldiers confirmed or suspected of killing themselves in July was the highest monthly total on record.
read more here
PTSD Final Battle After War
When you think that USA has been working on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder associated with combat, you'll understand how far we should have gotten in reversing the suicide rate of our forces and our veterans. None of this is new.
It is not just a problem for the US military. Last night I was talking to a Bosnia veteran from the UK. He served many tours of duty and said that they are not getting the help they need. They do the best they can to help each other but all too often, they just can't do enough.
Canada has problems with their veterans. The US seems to have a bigger problem because of the size of our military, redeployments and the number of combat veterans.
As they wait for programs that actually do work, wait for real answers and to be told the truth, they get repeated failures from programs that have been pushed on them no matter what evidence comes out proving they do not work.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Navy veteran stabbed to death in home
Carson veteran found stabbed to death had kicked drugs, cleaned up his life
Press Telegraph
By Sandy Mazza
Staff Writer
Posted: 09/16/2012
Darrell Rolen's violent death happened on one of the happiest days of his life, and allegedly at the hands of a woman he loved.
It was in his new apartment - the first one the 54-year-old U.S. Navy veteran from Carson had ever rented.
It was done with one of the kitchen knives he had proudly showed off to friends in a cellphone video tour of his one-bedroom place, in which he bragged about his new couch, bed, hats, shoes and cookware.
Like Rolen, his suspected attacker had been homeless and drug-addicted for years. But, unlike him, his friends say, she didn't want to change.
"He got himself all good and cleaned up and living again, and unfortunately the new girl he met was his demise," said Rolen's younger brother, Jimmy Strattion Jr.
read more here
Press Telegraph
By Sandy Mazza
Staff Writer
Posted: 09/16/2012
Darrell Rolen's violent death happened on one of the happiest days of his life, and allegedly at the hands of a woman he loved.
It was in his new apartment - the first one the 54-year-old U.S. Navy veteran from Carson had ever rented.
It was done with one of the kitchen knives he had proudly showed off to friends in a cellphone video tour of his one-bedroom place, in which he bragged about his new couch, bed, hats, shoes and cookware.
Like Rolen, his suspected attacker had been homeless and drug-addicted for years. But, unlike him, his friends say, she didn't want to change.
"He got himself all good and cleaned up and living again, and unfortunately the new girl he met was his demise," said Rolen's younger brother, Jimmy Strattion Jr.
read more here
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Lejeune Marine pleads guilty to assaulting reality TV star
Lejeune Marine pleads guilty to assaulting reality TV star
JD News.com
August 28, 2012
F. T. Norton - The StarNews of Wilmington
Battery and drug charges were dismissed Monday against Jenelle Evans, star of MTV’s Teen Mom2, while her ex-boyfriend Gary Head pleaded guilty to assaulting her in a June domestic dispute in Leland that ended in both their arrests.
In exchange for the plea, charges of possession of marijuana, simple possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Head, an active-duty Marine station at Camp Lejeune.
read more here
JD News.com
August 28, 2012
F. T. Norton - The StarNews of Wilmington
Battery and drug charges were dismissed Monday against Jenelle Evans, star of MTV’s Teen Mom2, while her ex-boyfriend Gary Head pleaded guilty to assaulting her in a June domestic dispute in Leland that ended in both their arrests.
In exchange for the plea, charges of possession of marijuana, simple possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Head, an active-duty Marine station at Camp Lejeune.
read more here
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Lewis-McChord Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
Army investigates death at JBLM
Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
The Army is investigating a death at that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
ALEXIS KRELL
STAFF WRITER
Published: Aug. 26, 2012
The Army is investigating a death that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s mother said her daughter was in her late 30s and lived on base with her husband and their four children.
Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Sunday that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division began investigating a death on the base Saturday.
He would not confirm whether that’s where the death occurred and declined to release further details. The Criminal Investigation Division did not return messages from The News Tribune on Sunday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office could not confirm the death, saying a killing on the base would be out of its jurisdiction.
KOMO-TV reported that base residents had told its reporter that a soldier had stabbed his wife to death. KOMO said base officials declined to comment on the report.
read more here linked from Army Times
Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
The Army is investigating a death at that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
ALEXIS KRELL
STAFF WRITER
Published: Aug. 26, 2012
The Army is investigating a death that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s mother said her daughter was in her late 30s and lived on base with her husband and their four children.
Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Sunday that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division began investigating a death on the base Saturday.
He would not confirm whether that’s where the death occurred and declined to release further details. The Criminal Investigation Division did not return messages from The News Tribune on Sunday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office could not confirm the death, saying a killing on the base would be out of its jurisdiction.
KOMO-TV reported that base residents had told its reporter that a soldier had stabbed his wife to death. KOMO said base officials declined to comment on the report.
read more here linked from Army Times
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Police: Officer Shoots Armed Fort Carson Soldier
Police: Officer Shoots Armed Fort Carson Soldier
Fountain Police: Officer Was Responding To Domestic Violence Incident
ABC News 7
Posted By Alan Gathright
August 13, 2012
FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- A man who was shot by a Fountain police officer after police say he threatened family members with a gun has been identified as a 34-year-old Fort Carson soldier.
Stephen Payne was shot by an officer in the 800 block of Daffodil Street just before 1 a.m. Sunday, KRDO-TV reported.
Fountain Deputy Police Chief Bill Elder told the news station that officers responded to a domestic violence case involving a man with a gun.
read more here
Fountain Police: Officer Was Responding To Domestic Violence Incident
ABC News 7
Posted By Alan Gathright
August 13, 2012
FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- A man who was shot by a Fountain police officer after police say he threatened family members with a gun has been identified as a 34-year-old Fort Carson soldier.
Stephen Payne was shot by an officer in the 800 block of Daffodil Street just before 1 a.m. Sunday, KRDO-TV reported.
Fountain Deputy Police Chief Bill Elder told the news station that officers responded to a domestic violence case involving a man with a gun.
read more here
Friday, August 10, 2012
Man charged with beating soldier-wife claims frame-up
Man charged with beating soldier-wife claims frame-up, can't get Army witnesses
By EMILY GURNON
Pioneer Press
St. Paul, Minn.
Published: August 9, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Days before the scheduled start of his trial, a St. Paul engineer accused of assaulting his wife has alleged that the U.S. Army has not cooperated in getting his wife's supposed lover — an Army sergeant — to testify.
The wife was on leave from a tour in Iraq. Another military member is also on the defense witness list.
The attorney for Charlie Pearman Blackwell, 31, said during a Wednesday, Aug. 8, hearing in Ramsey County District Court that he has been "feverishly trying to find the military witnesses" and that he can't try the case without the sergeant.
"If Sgt. (Luther) Hall is not produced, I will be asking for a continuance," said attorney Ira Whitlock. "Sgt. Hall is absolutely crucial in what we believe is an absolute fabrication by the victim."
Whitlock said the victim and Hall may have cooked up the allegations days before the Jan. 20-21 incidents during a "rendezvous in Florida."
read more here
By EMILY GURNON
Pioneer Press
St. Paul, Minn.
Published: August 9, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Days before the scheduled start of his trial, a St. Paul engineer accused of assaulting his wife has alleged that the U.S. Army has not cooperated in getting his wife's supposed lover — an Army sergeant — to testify.
The wife was on leave from a tour in Iraq. Another military member is also on the defense witness list.
The attorney for Charlie Pearman Blackwell, 31, said during a Wednesday, Aug. 8, hearing in Ramsey County District Court that he has been "feverishly trying to find the military witnesses" and that he can't try the case without the sergeant.
"If Sgt. (Luther) Hall is not produced, I will be asking for a continuance," said attorney Ira Whitlock. "Sgt. Hall is absolutely crucial in what we believe is an absolute fabrication by the victim."
Whitlock said the victim and Hall may have cooked up the allegations days before the Jan. 20-21 incidents during a "rendezvous in Florida."
read more here
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Florida National Guard Soldier back from Afghanistan charged with death of child
Man beat 4-month-old to death, deputies say
Deputies: Man charged with murder in infant's death
UPDATED 6:31 PM EDT Aug 01, 2012
WESH 2 News
WEST MELBOURNE, Fla.
A 22-year old West Melbourne man was arrested Tuesday morning in the beating death of a 4-month-old child.
Gavin Sola is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
read more here
Deputies: Man charged with murder in infant's death
UPDATED 6:31 PM EDT Aug 01, 2012
WESH 2 News
Family members and investigators said Sola was just back from Afghanistan. He's a soldier and a military police officer in the Florida National Guard.
WEST MELBOURNE, Fla.
A 22-year old West Melbourne man was arrested Tuesday morning in the beating death of a 4-month-old child.
Gavin Sola is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
read more here
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
UK:'One in eight soldiers' commits violence on return
'One in eight soldiers' commits violence on return
By Jane Deith
24 July 2012
One in eight soldiers has attacked someone after coming home from a combat deployment, research suggests.
Ministry of Defence-funded researchers surveyed 13,000 Army personnel and say they found a link between combat and trauma, and violent behaviour - often towards their partners.
Former head of the Army General Richard Dannatt warned a cultural change is needed within the forces.
The Ministry of Defence said it had measures to manage violence.
The study by Dr Deirdre MacManus, at The Kings Centre for Military Health Research, found an association between soldiers' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and violent behaviour at home.
Soldiers involved in direct combat were twice as likely as others to admit having hit someone at the end of the tour, the research found.
A third of the victims were someone in the family - often a wife or girlfriend.
read more here
By Jane Deith
24 July 2012
One in eight soldiers has attacked someone after coming home from a combat deployment, research suggests.
Ministry of Defence-funded researchers surveyed 13,000 Army personnel and say they found a link between combat and trauma, and violent behaviour - often towards their partners.
Former head of the Army General Richard Dannatt warned a cultural change is needed within the forces.
The Ministry of Defence said it had measures to manage violence.
The study by Dr Deirdre MacManus, at The Kings Centre for Military Health Research, found an association between soldiers' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and violent behaviour at home.
Soldiers involved in direct combat were twice as likely as others to admit having hit someone at the end of the tour, the research found.
A third of the victims were someone in the family - often a wife or girlfriend.
read more here
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Vietnam vet in custody after shooting 2 family members?
The last to die in Vietnam was 1975. How is a 52 year old a Vietnam Veteran?
Is this yet another "headline" grabber for the news station or is it just bad reporting?
Is this yet another "headline" grabber for the news station or is it just bad reporting?
Police: Vietnam vet in custody after shooting 2 family members
Deputies say grandfather shot man, woman
KOCO Oklahoma City
COYLE, Okla. - A Coyle grandfather is facing charges Monday after police say he opened fire on his own family. Two people are now in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds.
Family members of the 52-year-old grandfather say the Vietnam veteran suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Sky 5 flew over the scene just after the shooting Monday afternoon in the 10000 block of East 32nd Street about 4:21 p.m. as police moved in to arrest the man.
read more here
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Don't let congress forget about women like me.
Don't let congress forget about women like me.
by Chaplain Kathie
I wanted to put it all behind me because I have a different life now. I have a wonderful husband now and we got married in 1984. Hard to believe that just over a year before I met this husband, I was almost killed by my first husband. Yes, he tried to kill me one night when he got home from work. I don't know if he was high on something or what happened, but all of a sudden during a small argument, he snapped and punched me in the face. A second later, I was fighting for my life. Our landlady called the police. He was arrested. I did what I was supposed to do afterwards. I filed charges, got a restraining order and packed his stuff up. I knew a great lawyer and he filed the divorce papers the next day.
A few days later, I was able to go back to work when the swelling went down. I didn't want to answer any questions from coworkers. He showed up and I went into a full panic. I called the police but he had left by then. They told me there was nothing they could do unless he was still there.
I kept doing what I was supposed to do. I called the police when he showed up. Went to court every time he broke the restraining order and ended up losing my job. They said it was because I was taking so much time off but the truth was, they didn't want any trouble.
He stalked me after that because I moved back home with my parents. I stopped calling the police because it didn't do any good.
One night I was out with friends on a blind date. We were at a club and I was sitting there talking to this poor guy when my ex-husband walked over and threatened him. We walked out, he followed us and I told the other guy to just go. He didn't. My ex-husband came after me. I picked up a 2x4 and swung. That, I thought ended his notion that he could do whatever he wanted. I was wrong again.
He followed me, ran my car off the road. I called his Mom and told her that if she didn't want to see him in jail she had better get him to leave me alone.
We got divorced and I thought it was over until I got engaged. He had been following me all that time.
Domestic violence is not always what you read in the paper. It happens in secret but the suffering is the same. It stays with you. Every time I heard a muscle car, it all came back and I had to look out the window to see if it was him or not. That stopped a couple of years ago when my cousin read in the newspaper he passed away. The crazy thing is, I moved down to Florida and still got upset when I heard a car like his.
Most of you know my story after I married Jack. We've been together for thirty years, so take some hope in that if domestic violence is happening to you. They want you to think no one will love you and you don't deserve to be happy. What I'm telling you is you don't deserve to be treated the way you are. Don't give them another chance to hurt you more and don't tell me it isn't as easy as it sounds because I already did it. It was hard but I was worth fighting for!
Think about that when you watch this video report. Know what I've done with my life since those horrible years of abuse from someone that was supposed to love me. He tried to destroy me and in a way, he came close to doing it. How many other women does this have to happen to before it is treated like a crime? If any member of congress is against protecting women like me either they don't know what is going on or they agree with it. Either way, they don't deserve to be representing women at all!
by Chaplain Kathie
I wanted to put it all behind me because I have a different life now. I have a wonderful husband now and we got married in 1984. Hard to believe that just over a year before I met this husband, I was almost killed by my first husband. Yes, he tried to kill me one night when he got home from work. I don't know if he was high on something or what happened, but all of a sudden during a small argument, he snapped and punched me in the face. A second later, I was fighting for my life. Our landlady called the police. He was arrested. I did what I was supposed to do afterwards. I filed charges, got a restraining order and packed his stuff up. I knew a great lawyer and he filed the divorce papers the next day.
A few days later, I was able to go back to work when the swelling went down. I didn't want to answer any questions from coworkers. He showed up and I went into a full panic. I called the police but he had left by then. They told me there was nothing they could do unless he was still there.
I kept doing what I was supposed to do. I called the police when he showed up. Went to court every time he broke the restraining order and ended up losing my job. They said it was because I was taking so much time off but the truth was, they didn't want any trouble.
He stalked me after that because I moved back home with my parents. I stopped calling the police because it didn't do any good.
One night I was out with friends on a blind date. We were at a club and I was sitting there talking to this poor guy when my ex-husband walked over and threatened him. We walked out, he followed us and I told the other guy to just go. He didn't. My ex-husband came after me. I picked up a 2x4 and swung. That, I thought ended his notion that he could do whatever he wanted. I was wrong again.
He followed me, ran my car off the road. I called his Mom and told her that if she didn't want to see him in jail she had better get him to leave me alone.
We got divorced and I thought it was over until I got engaged. He had been following me all that time.
Domestic violence is not always what you read in the paper. It happens in secret but the suffering is the same. It stays with you. Every time I heard a muscle car, it all came back and I had to look out the window to see if it was him or not. That stopped a couple of years ago when my cousin read in the newspaper he passed away. The crazy thing is, I moved down to Florida and still got upset when I heard a car like his.
Most of you know my story after I married Jack. We've been together for thirty years, so take some hope in that if domestic violence is happening to you. They want you to think no one will love you and you don't deserve to be happy. What I'm telling you is you don't deserve to be treated the way you are. Don't give them another chance to hurt you more and don't tell me it isn't as easy as it sounds because I already did it. It was hard but I was worth fighting for!
Think about that when you watch this video report. Know what I've done with my life since those horrible years of abuse from someone that was supposed to love me. He tried to destroy me and in a way, he came close to doing it. How many other women does this have to happen to before it is treated like a crime? If any member of congress is against protecting women like me either they don't know what is going on or they agree with it. Either way, they don't deserve to be representing women at all!
Violence Against Women Act in jeopardy
May 18, 2012 4:56 PM
The Violence Against Women Act has provided funding to help women who have been victims of abuse, and to go after their abusers. Nancy Cordes reports an impasse in Congress has the act's future in jeopardy.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Fort Campbell soldier suspect in wife's murder
UPDATE
Apr 19, 2012
Soldier leads police on pursuit, commits suicide after wife found dead
South Bend, Ind.
A soldier involved in a high-speed chase with Georgia State Police has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the military says.
Reporter: Kevin Lewis and The Associated Press
A soldier involved in a high-speed chase with Georgia State Police has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the military says.
A news release from Fort Campbell says Spc. Rico L. Rawls Jr., 22, died around 2 p.m. Monday. Rawls Jr. was wanted by military police in connection with the shooting death of his wife, Jessica T. Rawls, of South Bend.
The mother of three was found dead Friday evening at the couple’s home within the military installation, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. Military police say they were led to the home following a domestic dispute call.
"I got onto Facebook and saw posts about her passing and I just kind of lost it,” Rawls’ longtime friend JaNetta Jenner said.
Jenner met Rawls as a fourth grade student at Kennedy Elementary School on South Bend’s west side.
"I came to Kennedy with no friends and she was the first person that I became friends with. If you ever had a problem she was there, she was really my best friend,” Jenner added.
Rawls moved to Florida in middle school, only to return to South Bend in the late 1990s. Reunited as freshman, Rawls and Jenner played basketball and softball together at LaSalle High School until graduating in 2002.
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Apr 19, 2012
Soldier leads police on pursuit, commits suicide after wife found dead
South Bend, Ind.
A soldier involved in a high-speed chase with Georgia State Police has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the military says.
Reporter: Kevin Lewis and The Associated Press
A soldier involved in a high-speed chase with Georgia State Police has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the military says.
A news release from Fort Campbell says Spc. Rico L. Rawls Jr., 22, died around 2 p.m. Monday. Rawls Jr. was wanted by military police in connection with the shooting death of his wife, Jessica T. Rawls, of South Bend.
The mother of three was found dead Friday evening at the couple’s home within the military installation, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. Military police say they were led to the home following a domestic dispute call.
"I got onto Facebook and saw posts about her passing and I just kind of lost it,” Rawls’ longtime friend JaNetta Jenner said.
Jenner met Rawls as a fourth grade student at Kennedy Elementary School on South Bend’s west side.
"I came to Kennedy with no friends and she was the first person that I became friends with. If you ever had a problem she was there, she was really my best friend,” Jenner added.
Rawls moved to Florida in middle school, only to return to South Bend in the late 1990s. Reunited as freshman, Rawls and Jenner played basketball and softball together at LaSalle High School until graduating in 2002.
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Wife of Fort Campbell Soldier Killed, Her Husband is a Suspect
The wife of a Fort Campbell soldier is found shot to death.
Police say her husband took officers on a high speed chase, then shot himself.
Apr 16, 2012
Reporter: Tina Jennings
The wife of a Fort Campbell soldier is found shot to death. Police say her husband took officers on a high speed chase, then shot himself. Army officials say they were responding to a domestic dispute on post housing Friday night when they discovered the body of the soldiers wife.
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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Fort Campbell murder suspect shoots himself in Georgia
Fort Campbell murder suspect shoots himself in Georgia
Wife dead from gunshot, 80-mile pursuit in Georgia reached 120 mph
Clarksville Leaf Chronicle
Apr. 14, 2012
A Fort Campbell murder suspect shot himself in Bartow County, Ga., early Saturday morning after an 80-mile high-speed chase across southeast Tennessee and Georgia. Friday evening, Military Police responded to a domestic dispute in on-post housing, according to a news release Saturday evening from Fort Campbell.
MP’s found a woman dead from a gunshot wound, the release said. Authorities began looking for the woman’s husband, a soldier.
Fort Campbell was locked down at about 9:30 p.m., with no one allowed on or off post during the search.
Later that night, the soldier was chased by law enforcement starting in Hamilton County, Tenn. Bartow County, Ga., Sheriff Clark Millsap said the soldier, driving a driving a white Cadillac, led authorities on an 80-mile chase, reaching speeds of up to 120 mph.
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Wife dead from gunshot, 80-mile pursuit in Georgia reached 120 mph
Clarksville Leaf Chronicle
Apr. 14, 2012
A Fort Campbell murder suspect shot himself in Bartow County, Ga., early Saturday morning after an 80-mile high-speed chase across southeast Tennessee and Georgia. Friday evening, Military Police responded to a domestic dispute in on-post housing, according to a news release Saturday evening from Fort Campbell.
MP’s found a woman dead from a gunshot wound, the release said. Authorities began looking for the woman’s husband, a soldier.
Fort Campbell was locked down at about 9:30 p.m., with no one allowed on or off post during the search.
Later that night, the soldier was chased by law enforcement starting in Hamilton County, Tenn. Bartow County, Ga., Sheriff Clark Millsap said the soldier, driving a driving a white Cadillac, led authorities on an 80-mile chase, reaching speeds of up to 120 mph.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Vietnam vet suffers PTSD, murders wife
While watching this last night I was taken back to the time when PTSD was not talked about. It was something families felt they had to keep secret.
The common understanding is that PTSD was not acknowledged until many years after psychiatrists had already termed the condition and that was in the 70's. By 1978 there was a report commissioned by the Disabled American Veterans, stated that there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD.
The DAV already set up Veterans Centers to help combat veterans heal by offering support and knowledge. That is how long this has all be going on but as you can see from reports coming out on this generation of veterans, few lessons have been learned.
Tracking reports across the country makes me furious because this pamphlet hangs on the wall behind my computer to remind me of just how lousy of a job we're doing and none of what we see happening to our veterans should be excused. They knew too much 40 years ago to be so far behind.
The common understanding is that PTSD was not acknowledged until many years after psychiatrists had already termed the condition and that was in the 70's. By 1978 there was a report commissioned by the Disabled American Veterans, stated that there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD.
Tracking reports across the country makes me furious because this pamphlet hangs on the wall behind my computer to remind me of just how lousy of a job we're doing and none of what we see happening to our veterans should be excused. They knew too much 40 years ago to be so far behind.
Vietnam vet suffers PTSD, murders wife
Erin Burnett Out Front
Added on March 21, 2012
CNN's Miguel Marquez talks to veteran Gary Hulsey, a Pacific, Washington City Council member who killed his wife in 1978.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Families on front line of soldiers' distress of PTSD
Families on front line of soldiers' distress
By LORNET TURNBULL
The Seattle Times
Published: March 20, 2012
It started with the nightmares — middle-of-the-night eruptions when her fiancé would jolt her awake with his screams, his body drenched in sweat.
Renee Paxton watched as the outgoing, quick-witted man she loved and would later marry slowly came undone.
A load master in the Air Force Reserve with 240 combat missions into Afghanistan and Iraq, Rick Paxton stopped eating, stopped seeing friends. Loud noises spooked him; the American flag flying on a building stopped him dead in his tracks. He hardly left the house.
The 49-year-old became combative at the very suggestion that Renee Paxton get them help, worried that revealing his troubles would jeopardize his chances to advance after 25 years of service.
"He said, 'We don't talk about this,' " she recalled. "Military people push that stuff to a different part of their brain."
But the fear that is keeping soldiers from seeking help for their mental wounds is also tying the hands of those closest to them — the silence like a fence around the family.
"Often they are living in fear, silently, like women in domestic violence," said Jennifer Ferguson, a licensed marriage and family therapist who worked for a year in a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) program at Madigan Army Medical Center south of Tacoma.
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By LORNET TURNBULL
The Seattle Times
Published: March 20, 2012
It started with the nightmares — middle-of-the-night eruptions when her fiancé would jolt her awake with his screams, his body drenched in sweat.
Renee Paxton watched as the outgoing, quick-witted man she loved and would later marry slowly came undone.
A load master in the Air Force Reserve with 240 combat missions into Afghanistan and Iraq, Rick Paxton stopped eating, stopped seeing friends. Loud noises spooked him; the American flag flying on a building stopped him dead in his tracks. He hardly left the house.
The 49-year-old became combative at the very suggestion that Renee Paxton get them help, worried that revealing his troubles would jeopardize his chances to advance after 25 years of service.
"He said, 'We don't talk about this,' " she recalled. "Military people push that stuff to a different part of their brain."
But the fear that is keeping soldiers from seeking help for their mental wounds is also tying the hands of those closest to them — the silence like a fence around the family.
"Often they are living in fear, silently, like women in domestic violence," said Jennifer Ferguson, a licensed marriage and family therapist who worked for a year in a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) program at Madigan Army Medical Center south of Tacoma.
red more here
Sunday, March 4, 2012
PTSD Marine who beat wife unconscious in front of judge gets 15 years
Marine who beat wife unconscious in front of judge after being ordered to pay child support at divorce proceeding gets 15 years behind bars
Paul Gonzalez, 29, flew into a rage in judge's chambers in April 2011
Left his wife with a broken nose, fractured jaw and concussion
Judge branded his actions 'an outrage' and gave him maximum penalty
By LYDIA WARREN
4th March 2012
A former Marine who savagely beat his wife in front of a judge after he was ordered to pay child maintenance at a divorce hearing has received the maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.
Paul Gonzalez, 29, had to be subdued by a Taser when he flew into a rage at Catherine Scott, who suffered a broken nose, a fractured jaw, concussion and severe bruising to her face.
At the sentencing on Friday, Judge Geoffrey Cohen ignored Gonzalez's apologies, branding his actions in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida hearing 'an outrage'.
'It was in a court of law where people for hundreds of years have been coming to peaceably resolve their disputes where people have an expectation of safety — certainly where your former wife thought she would be safe,' Cohen said.
'You chose it as a place to viciously assault her.'
In February, Gonzalez pleaded 'no contest' to charges of beating his ex-wife in April 2011.
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Paul Gonzalez, 29, flew into a rage in judge's chambers in April 2011
Left his wife with a broken nose, fractured jaw and concussion
Judge branded his actions 'an outrage' and gave him maximum penalty
By LYDIA WARREN
4th March 2012
A former Marine who savagely beat his wife in front of a judge after he was ordered to pay child maintenance at a divorce hearing has received the maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.
Paul Gonzalez, 29, had to be subdued by a Taser when he flew into a rage at Catherine Scott, who suffered a broken nose, a fractured jaw, concussion and severe bruising to her face.
At the sentencing on Friday, Judge Geoffrey Cohen ignored Gonzalez's apologies, branding his actions in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida hearing 'an outrage'.
'It was in a court of law where people for hundreds of years have been coming to peaceably resolve their disputes where people have an expectation of safety — certainly where your former wife thought she would be safe,' Cohen said.
'You chose it as a place to viciously assault her.'
In February, Gonzalez pleaded 'no contest' to charges of beating his ex-wife in April 2011.
read more here
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