“I grew up in a household where I never saw affection. Well, I saw it from one individual, the female, but not from the male. He was always too macho. “It was a physically abusive environment. Not toward me, but the female. When I saw … Continue reading‘I had a lot of confusion about how a man should treat a woman’
“Drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence — all of that was in our life growing up. “My dad was a salesman. He made a lot of money, but he spent it on alcohol and drugs. He beat my mom often. They ended up splitting up. “My mom … Continue readingHer childhood was ‘really, really hell’
“I looked at the statistics for the year that Melissa passed. In North Carolina, 131 women were victims of domestic violence-related homicides. That same year in Texas, there were 136 domestic violence-related homicides. You don’t realize how frequently this type of abuse happens, to men … Continue readingShe’s not keeping silent about domestic violence
“Melissa’s boyfriend was never charged. The thing that really upset me was the way we were treated by the detective who was investigating it. He told us her boyfriend said he was taking care of her. But in reality, he left her lying in the … Continue readingMother continues to seek justice for her daughter
“On Oct. 3, 2008, a Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from my daughter’s boyfriend. They had been together maybe two years, living in North Carolina, and he had never called me before. He said Melissa fell in the bathroom, but she was fine. … Continue readingDomestic violence leads to daughter’s death
“When I was young, I would see newspaper ads for places like Walmart, Target and Kmart. And I would tell my mom, ‘I want to model for that. How can I do that?’ She was so busy working that she never had time to look … Continue readingActing career serves as example for daughters
“I’ve handled so many 911 calls through the years, they tend to blur together. But I guess there’s one that really stands out from when I first started working here. “A child called. I think she was 6 years old. She said that her daddy … Continue readingDomestic abuse call sticks with 911 dispatcher
“At first, our marriage was beautiful. It was blossoming. What I didn’t know was that he was a functioning addict. “He had a job. He paid the bills. He bought the groceries. But at the end of the night, when I would wake up in … Continue readingDrugs, physical abuse ruin her marriage
“We used to go to school together, but we just met up again recently after several years. It really was a surprise. He kind of just popped up out of nowhere.” “Rekindling the flame, I guess. We have some things in common. We like to … Continue readingWriters find a way back into each other’s lives