Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers found Catherine Blakeney, 34, dead inside a home on Pheasant Glen Road in northwest Mecklenburg County on Tuesday. The police have charged Brandon Blakeney, 30, with the murder.

The march will end at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s headquarters where a ribbon will be placed on this year’s Domestic Violence Memorial Tree representing all 68 victims of domestic violence related homicides in North Carolina this year.

The march is intended to broaden the public’s awareness that help is available, including programs and services offering safety planning. This is not a memorial.

When:     12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011
Where:    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 N. Tryon St. A free trolley runs the length of Tryon Street every seven minutes and from the Government offices on Fourth Street.

This is the fourth Mecklenburg County domestic violence-related homicide of 2011. Last year there were a total of nine people killed at the hands of their intimate partner due to domestic violence.

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council organizes awareness marches the Thursday following the determination that a death in Mecklenburg County was due to domestic violence. The council includes: victim advocates, child advocates, housing advocates, mental health professionals, police, prosecutors, courts, substance abuse providers, education professionals, medical professionals, batterers' intervention programs, shelters, animal control, legislators, colleges, local companies, local churches, survivors, and interested community member.

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