OCT 01, 2019

Silent Witness Ceremony Honored 2018 Victims of Fatal Domestic Violence

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Oct. 1, 2019 – Attorney General Alan Wilson led participants through the 22nd annual Silent Witness Domestic Violence ceremony that was held today on the south steps of the State House in Columbia.

During the solemn ceremony, Attorney General Wilson called the names of thirty (30) women and eleven (11) men from across the state who lost their lives as the result of domestic violence in the previous year.

Victims’ family members, friends, or volunteers carried a life-sized silhouette representing the victim to the State House steps as a bell was rung for each victim. An additional forty-second (42) silhouette represented the potential unknown victims.

“This is a sad and solemn occasion to commemorate the lives that were lost in the past year to domestic violence,” said Wilson.

“This is a cycle of violence that must be broken in our state,” said Wilson. “All too often, not only is the life of the victim lost, but in ways, we lose the children who grow up in a home where domestic violence is taking place.”

Domestic violence survivors, officials and victims’ advocates made special remarks to highlight the problem of violence against women.

A statistical breakdown for each county is available at http://www.scag.gov/criminal-domestic-violence-in-south-carolina.

 

 

2018 SILENT WITNESS VICTIMS

 

Patricia Todd

54 years old

Abbeville County

 

Laketia Boyd

23 years old

Aiken County

 

Curt Cain

41 years old

Aiken County

 

Melissa Clary

20 years old

Aiken County

 

Tabatha Duncan

24 years old

Anderson County

 

Rashad Patton

37 years old

Berkeley County

 

Tennille Grant

41 years old

Charleston County

 

 

Silvia Flores

52 years old

Charleston County

 

Tina Makeupson

39 years old

Cherokee County

 

 

Brandon Thomas

33 years old

Cherokee County

 

Ashley Blackmon

24 years old

Dillon County

 

Darren Elmore

42 years old

Dorchester County

 

Heather Connor

38 years old

Florence County

 

Nina Edwards

48 years old

Florence County

 

Caleb Bartram

25 years old

Greenville County

 

Shafeque Berry

34 years old

Greenville County

 

Rebecca Ferrarelli

38 years old

Greenville County

 

Angela Giacometti

42 years old

Greenville County

 

Natasha McDonald

44 years old

Greenwood County

 

 

Lourdes Brown

30 years old

Hampton County

 

Samantha Cox

27 years old

Horry County

 

Jennifer Fitchett

41 years old

Horry County

 

Lindsey Stegner

28 years old

Horry County

 

Chantis Greene

39 years old

Jasper County

 

Katelin Crocker

19 years old

Kershaw County

 

Faith Garza

24 years old

Laurens County

 

 

Daniel Orlick

25 years old

Marion County

 

Cathy Varner

63 years old

Newberry County

 

 

Mya Lee

21 years old

Oconee County

 

 

Regina Brown

53 years old

Orangeburg County

 

Devena Rutland

35 years old

Orangeburg County

 

Justin Posey

30 years old

Pickens County

 

Timothy Anderson

27 years old

Richland County

 

Joseph James

45 years old

Richland County

 

Temisha Collier

37 years old

Spartanburg County

 

Rickeya Foster

26 years old

Spartanburg County

 

David Leo

64 years old

Spartanburg County

 

Brechue Wiles

23 years old

Spartanburg County

Lois Smith

31 years old

Sumter County

 

 

William Lawrimore

44 years old

Williamsburg County

 

Name Withheld

by family’s request

64 years old

York County

 

Unknown

 

 

Domestic violence affects us all.

Domestic violence cuts across gender, race, and ethnicity. People in every socioeconomic status experience this type of violence. Domestic violence victims are all around us: in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and our places of worship.

Therefore, let us have a moment of silence to remember those victims of whom we are unaware.

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For media inquiries please contact Robert Kittle, rkittle@scag.gov or 803-734-3670

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