Tuesday, the SC Attorney General's office held its annual Silent Witness Ceremony in memory of the victims.
South Carolina ranks ninth in the nation for domestic violence murders. Tuesday, the SC Attorney General's office held its annual Silent Witness Ceremony in memory of the victims.
33 people died in 2009 in South Carolina as a result of domestic violence incidents. 31 of them were women. Advocates say the victims lived in silence suffering through years of physical abuse.
Life-size, wooden silhouettes on the Statehouse steps represented the 31 women and 2 men. Family members, friends and volunteers carried the silhouettes, as SC Attorney General Henry McMaster read the victims names, during his 13th Annual Silent Witness Ceremony. "We have 36,000 incident reports filed every year... filed every year for criminal domestic violence," McMaster said.
Five of the victims are from Horry County and the Pee Dee.
Vickie White held the silhouette in memory of her younger sister, Brandy Simmons of Marlboro County. Brandy died last July. In May of this year, police charged her husband with killing her. "It's a hurtful thing 'cause I had a wonderful sister. She always done what she could for anybody and everybody that she could help," Vickie said.
Reports indicate there was a history of abuse in Brandy's relationship with her husband, and that's the case for many silent witnesses, said McMaster. "Typically a woman will be beaten 10 to 12 times before she will finally break down and call the law."
Ellen Hamilton is with the Pee Dee Coalition. "You still got a conspiracy of silence in small communities. People know each other. People are reluctant to get involved or point the finger."
Hamilton said it's time to break the cycle and bring justice to those who abuse and fatally wound their partners.
Tuesday's ceremony marked the first week of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Here's a list of the other victims from our area who were remembered at the ceremony.
Florence County:
Laura B. Creel (48 years old) Ms. Creel was discovered shot and killed on October 12, 2009. Police say Creel died as the result of a gunshot wound to the head from her boyfriend, Roger Bruce. Reports indicate a family member requested a welfare check on Ms. Creel because she had not been heard from in several days. Officers were sent to the apartment she shared with Bruce. After searching the apartment, officers discovered her body in the trunk of her car. Bruce is charged with murder and is currently awaiting trial. Creel is survived by two sons.
Horry County:
Hannah Lawhon (30 years old) Lawhon was shot to death on January 3, 2009. Lawhon was shot in the head by her husband, Richard Lawhon. Richard's father found the couple's bodies in their home and called the police. Police determined that Richard shot his wife and then turned his gun on himself.
Marlboro County:
Debra Henderson (36 years old) Henderson was shot and killed on August 12, 2009. Henderson was shot in the head by her husband, Bobby Henderson, Jr. Reports indicate a 911 dispatcher received a frantic call from someone saying that their father was shooting their mother. Officers arrived at the home and discovered that Henderson had forced his wife out of her car and into the home, where he held her against her will before shooting her and then himself. Henderson is survived by two daughters and two sons.
Scott Massom (40 years old) Massom was shot and killed on April 4, 2009. According to investigators, Massom was killed by his brother-in-law, Jamie Head. Investigators say Massom's wife, Helen, worked with Head to make the scene look like a robbery that had gone bad. Head was charged with murder. Massom was charged with accessory after the fact, giving false information to law enforcement, and obstruction of justice. They are both awaiting trial.
