July 23, 2004
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MARCH TO BE HELD TUESDAY
Next Tuesday, July 27, 2004, men and women from Mecklenburg County will participate in a silent march to bring attention to a domestic violence homicide that took place on July 20, 2004. The march will take place from 5:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on the square at Trade and Tryon Streets in Charlotte. Attention will be given to the life threatening nature of domestic violence that plagues our streets.
This will be the third march this year where an intimate partner murdered a victim. Police were called to the home of Diane Young James, 50, where they found her fiancé Leon Thompson, 46, dead in the garage. Homicide detectives interviewed James and later arrested her.
This is the 23rd domestic violence murder of the year in North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV). There were 68 murders in the state last year with six of those taking place in Mecklenburg County. This is the third domestic violence related murder in Mecklenburg County this year.
This public awareness march is organized by the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, which includes representatives from: Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission, Department of Social Services, Sheriff’s Office, Shelter for Battered Women, Women First, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department-Domestic Violence Unit, Victim Assistance and others.
The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council will continue to organize these marches every Tuesday following a domestic violence-related murder in Mecklenburg County. They will take place at the same time and location.
Free parking for the march is available at the Hal Marshall County Services Center at 700 North Tryon Street or the 7th Street Station parking garage. A free trolley runs the length of Tryon Street every seven minutes.
For more information on the effects of domestic violence in our community, call the Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission at (704) 336-3210 or the Shelter for Battered Women 24-hour hotline at (704) 332-2513.