ROCKINGHAM — The names of 68 women, men and children were displayed on ribbon-shaped ornaments adorning a tree outside the old Richmond County courthouse Tuesday evening.
All were victims of domestic violence this year across North Carolina.
The tree of remembrance was part of New Horizons Life and Family Services’ annual Domestic Violence Vigil.
One of the names on the tree was Kanisha Maranda Harrison Nealy, who was reportedly killed in a murder-suicide this past August in Hoffman.
“We must take a stand and be a voice for those whose voice was silenced by fear, shame, guilt, unbelief and pain,” said Teshika Wall, executive director of New Horizons. “A stand against domestic violence.
Wall said she was proud to stand with those who attended the vigil, “for you all have made a conscious choice…to support those who have suffered at the hand of their abusers and… to stand behind survivors and say, ‘I will be your strength when you feel you have none.”
“We take a stand saying we will not accept this in our community,” Wall said, prior to a walk through downtown. “We march to raise awareness so that others will join this fight, so that change can occur.”
During the opening prayer, Amanda McKenzie asked for God to “be with those who continue to suffer at the hand of their perpetrators … hold them close, Lord, and protect them, to give them the strength and show them the way to get out of their horrible situations.”
According to a statistical brief on statewide domestic violence (July 2021-June 2022) from the N.C. Departament of Administration’s Council for Women and Youth Involvement shows that 50% of those receiving shelter services are between the ages of 25 and 59. The next highest percentage (36%) are children, and 10% are 18-24.
Females make up 79% of those receiving in-person or remote services, with men accounting for 13%. The remaining 8% is listed as “other or unknown.” The report also states that 392 of the nearly 12,000 clients were victims of human trafficking.
In most of the reported cases, the offender was known to the victim — 25% were a relative, 23% were an acquaintance, 15% were a partner, 7% were a spouse — and only 4% of the perpetrators were strangers. The report shows 23% of offenders were undisclosed.
As of 3:40 p.m., prior to the vigil, there were eight defendants in the Richmond County Jail charged with assault on a female. One of those is also charged with a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Most of those defendants have other pending charges, including two accused of sex crimes.
Cano Ernesto Sanchez also faces multiple other charges, including first-degree murder. He has been jailed since July 6, 2022. Another man, Nicholas McCrary, is also charged with several other crimes, including attempted first-degree murder.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 134 domestic-related calls since Jan. 1, according to Chief Deputy Jay Childers.
According to Maj. Hudson Chitwood, the Hamlet Police Department has taken 72 reports since January where the primary criminal issue was domestic violence.
Chitwood said the department takes mandatory reports on domestic violence cases, “whether or not probable cause for an arrest is established,” and those reports are included.
Chitwood did not have numbers based on gender, however, the N.C. Coalition on Domestic Violence reports that 35.2% of women and 30.3% of men in the state experience domestic violence and stalking in their lifetime.
According to a report from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, there were 135 DV-related homicides in 2023 — a 17.4% increase from the previous year.
The highest numbers were in Guilford (15), Cumberland (12), and Mecklenburg and Forsyth (10 each).
The number of DV-related homicides seem to have slowly risen since 2009 (99), peaking at 148 in 2022.
From 2019-2023, Richmond County reported four such homicides: two in 2020; and one each in 2021 and 2022.
The report shows that 78 victims were female and 57 were female. When it comes to offenders, 96 were male and 32 were female.
Six of the victims had taken out protective orders prior to the homicide, according to the report, and three of those orders were active.