Shooting latest in string of domestic violence related deaths in Pee Dee

Friday’s shooting that left a woman and her husband dead is the latest in a string of domestic violence-related deaths in the Pee Dee, while South Carolina is ranked sixth in the nation for such incidents, according to the most recent statistics from S.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault.

In 2005, 32 domestic violence-related homicides occurred in South Carolina. That number increased to 50 in 2006, according to the agency.

In April, 42-year-old Timmonsville resident Lori McFadden died a week after the father of her children attacked her, according to Florence County Sheriff’s Office reports.

In 2006, 49-year-old Joanne Pompey was stabbed to death in Florence by her live-in boyfriend at their home, according to Florence police reports.

That same year, two more women were stabbed and shot to death in Marlboro County by men during domestic violence incidents, said Samantha Hardee-Baumbach, Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault’s director of community services.

The second most recent incident in the Pee Dee — in which a woman was gunned down at her workplace by her significant other — happened in Darlington County in August 2002.

Tiffany Bishop was working at a Winn-Dixie grocery store when police said her ex-boyfriend shot her several times during a brief argument.

The previous month, Anise Hall was stabbed to death by her husband at a Darlington rest area while the two were exchanging custody of their children, according to Pee Dee Coalition records.

Also in Darlington County, Virginia Joye was stabbed and strangled to death by a male acquaintance in March 2003.

But women aren’t the only victims of domestic violence, Hardee-Baumbach said.

A Williamsburg County man was slain in 2006 as a result of domestic violence, she said.

More recently, in August, Turbeville resident Stewart Floyd was shot to death at his wife’s wake by her father, Herman Donald McKnight.

The S.C. Attorney General’s Office has a centralized court in place for the prosecution of domestic violence cases, Hardee-Baumbach said. Offenders often are referred to alternative to violence programs while victims’ advocates provide services for the victim and the children involved, she said.

Some domestic violence cases are pursued by law enforcement as the entity pressing charges against the suspect, Hardee-Baumbach said. This alleviates the pressure on the victim to press charges, she said. Court itself is conducted in a manner that addresses the unique issue of domestic violence.

But state and nonprofit services can’t help the victims if they don’t report domestic violence, Hardee-Baumbach said.

“These statistics ... it’s not all (domestic violence cases) because they don’t report them or they report them as a last resort,” she said. “An average person will leave their abuser up to seven times before they actually leave them for good and get help.”

Victims can be reluctant to report the crime because of the way they were raised, Hardee-Baumbach said.

“A lot of times, victims come from different backgrounds,” she said. “They could have seen that happen between their parents all their life.”

Others don’t report abusive encounters because they are sandwiched between times when their partner is particularly loving and things are going well, Hardee-Baumbach said. These times are referred to by victim’s advocates as honeymoon phases.

“During that time, there are gifts and apologies and they are sincere,” she said. “They don’t necessary want to beat.”