Dec. 12, 2008

AWARENESS GROUP TO MARCH IN RESPONSE TO NINTH DV-RELATED HOMICIDE OF 2008

Charlotte, NC – The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council  invites the public to participate in a march on the Square in uptown Charlotte in response to the ninth domestic violence related homicide in Charlotte-Mecklenburg this year. Police say Elizabeth Michelle Elder, 38, was pronounced deceased in her home on Old lantern Way due to gunshot wounds. Her boyfriend was arrested at the scene and taken in for questioning.  He is currently in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

This march will be in honor of Elder and Roschelle Woyee, 19, who was killed outside her home in East Charlotte last Thursday (12/4).  Woyee’s boyfriend has been charged and is currently in custody.

“The march is a bit different this time,” says Mecklenburg County Public Service and Information Officer Mike Sexton. “The march will begin at Trade & Tryon and end at Police Headquarters where a ribbon for Ms. Elder and Ms. Woyee will be placed on the Domestic Violence Memorial Tree that honors all 70 of the victims of domestic violence in the State of North Carolina for 2008.”

These recent domestic violence-related homicides are the eighth and ninth this year in Mecklenburg County. There were 10 for all of 2007. There have now been 70 domestic violence-related homicides in North Carolina so far this year. There were 77 for all of 2007.

The march is intended to broaden the public’s awareness that there is help available, including local programs and services offering domestic violence counseling and education. This is not a memorial. The march will be held:

- Thursday, December 18
- 12:15 p.m. – 1 p.m.
- Beginning on the Square at Trade and Tryon streets and ending at Police Headquarters, 601 East Trade Street

Free parking is available at the Hal Marshall County Services Center, 700 North Tryon Street, or the Seventh Street Station parking garage. A free trolley runs the length of Tryon Street and Trade Street every seven minutes.

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council organizes awareness marches every Thursday following a death in Mecklenburg County in which domestic violence is believed to have played a role. The council includes representatives from the Mecklenburg County Community Support Services Women’s Commission, Department of Social Services, Sheriff’s Office, United Family Services Shelter for Battered Women, Women First, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Youth Crimes-Domestic Violence Unit, Victim Assistance, businesses and the interfaith community.

For more information on the effects of domestic violence in our community, call the Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission at 704-336-3210 or United Family Services’ Shelter for Battered Women 24-hour hotline at 704-332-2513.

For more information on the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council and to see a list of the 2008 DV Homicides, visit the Web site http://dvac.charmeck.org or call 704-432-1568.