sábado, 16 de febrero de 2013

Murder victim's brother hopes to raise awareness on domestic abuse - KCBD-TV

Lubbock, TX -

Still devastated by the murder of his sister over the weekend, Jackie Mcgowan is now hoping his tragedy will bring more awareness to domestic violence.

Early Saturday morning Lockney Police officers found 25-year-old Kechi Diaz murdered inside a Lockney home. Floyd County Sheriff Deputies say it was her boyfriend Edward Hernandez, 50, who called 911 to turn himself in. He is now behind bars and charged with Diaz's murder.

Through the heartache of losing his little sister, someone who he called his best friend, Jackie says he wants people to learn from his loss.

"You know we heard rumors of them fighting and what not, but there was never anything documented like a police report," Jackie said. "It's just completely senseless. What in your right mind would make you even consider beating someone to death. That's as brutal as it gets.  We hope to get awareness out of this about abuse like this."

October is 'Domestic Violence Awareness Month', and even though the Women's Protective Services hold events all month to bring attention to the dangers of being in an abusive relationship, many women are still stuck in violent situations.

Jordan Perry with WPS says last year 104 women died in Texas from domestic violence. This Thursday they'll be holding a candle light vigil for those women at the courthouse gazebo at 7p.m. She also says the WPS help more than 5,000 women each year in the South Plains area escape abuse.

"Verbal abuse and emotional abuse will eventually lead to physical abuse. A lot of people say I never thought he would hit her. There are warning signs but people tend to ignore them and that's what is scary," Perry said.

While WPS continues their events all month to raise awareness, Jackie also hopes his sister's murder will open eyes and help women to leave their abusive relationships. "He took a mother, a sister, a daughter and that is something that will never be replaced. I want to get awareness out there that something like this going unchecked can lead to murder and it needs to stop," Jackie said.

If you would like to help, donations can be made at any First Convenience bank to the Kechi Diaz Memorial Fund.

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