T. J. ROYAL
Among the 131 homicides resulting from domestic violence across North Carolina in 2008, five occurred in Edgecombe County, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper reported.
Cooper stated the 131 lives lost to domestic violence murders in 2008 "show that (domestic violence) is often too deadly," as they made up almost a quarter of the state's 550 murders last year.
"Just one life lost to domestic violence is one too many, so we must look for even better ways to prevent these heartbreaking crimes," Cooper added.
Of the murders, Cooper's office reported that 99 of the victims were women and 32 were men. Those crimes were committed by 103 men, and 25 by women.
Edgecombe County Clerk of Superior Court Carol Allen White said that for each of the last two years, there have been more than 160 domestic violence claims filed in her office; 161 between July 2006 and June 2007, and 167 from July 2007 through June.
She called the number of cases filed in Edgecombe County "especially high for the population," which stands at 52,682 according to the latest U.S. Census estimate for last year.
"It is sad to think one life lost to domestic violence is one too many. Hopefully Cooper and the community will continue to raise awareness about the seriousness of domestic violence, and the impact and brokenness it causes families," White added.
In February, Mario Dupree was sentenced to life imprisonment for the August 2007 murder of his wife Yolanda Marie Hart Dupree in Rocky Mount. The couple had two children.
The trials of Brice and Sandra McMillan, charged with first degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Tyler McMillan in June 2008, are tentatively scheduled to begin this summer. The couple are also charged with felony child abuse, and two other children from their Macclesfield household are staying with relatives in North Carolina and Florida.
Of the state's domestic violence murders last year, Cooper reported only eight victims had taken out protective orders, and that only three of them were current when the victims were murdered.
"I believe domestic violence deaths can be reduced with protective orders," Cooper said.
A pilot program is underway in Pitt County where people who take out protective orders are notified "within minutes of the order being served on their abuser," Cooper said.
The attorney general added, however, that most domestic violence offenders who receive probation are not currently supervised.
