Posted: Monday, Dec. 15, 2008
Police say the 18-year-old son of a woman who was shot and killed Sunday in a domestic-violence-related homicide died this morning of wounds from the shooting.
A Charlotte man has been charged with murder of the teen's mother, Gabrille Kinard, 38.
There is no word yet from police if additional murder charges will be filed in the death of Anjelo Kinard, who died this morning at Carolinas Medical Center.
Anjelo Kinard's sister was shot as she tried to flee, with her 5-month-old sister in her arms.
The case marked the 10th and 11th domestic-violence-related homicides in Mecklenburg County this year, police said -- and the fourth case in two weeks. That exceeds last year's total by one, and Mike Sexton, who has worked with the Mecklenburg County Women's Commission for several years, said he's never seen four cases happen in such a short period.
“We can try to find blame with the economy, or because of the holidays and the stress and gaps in the system,” said Sexton, the incoming chair of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, “but ultimately it's the guys, the abusers, the batterers … that are doing the damage.”
On Sunday, police arrested Scott E. Davis Sr. and charged him with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection to the death of Gabrielle Kinard, 38, and the shootings of Anjelo and Gabriella Kinard.
A friend of Gabrielle Kinard said Davis was her boyfriend and the 5-month-old infant's father.
Police said they received a call at 11:45 p.m. Saturday reporting a domestic disturbance at a home on Thornwood Road in the Hidden Valley neighborhood in north Charlotte. When officers arrived, they found Gabrielle Kinard on the front yard of the residence. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Anjelo Kinard, 18, was found injured inside the home. Gabriella Kinard, 15, was released from the hospital earlier in the day with what police described as minor injuries.
The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council plans to honor Gabrille Kinard at a march on Thursday. The council had already planned a march for that day in honor of Elizabeth Michelle Elder and Roschelle Woyee, who police say were shot and killed by their boyfriends recently in separate incidents.
The advocacy council holds marches the Thursday after deaths believed to be related to domestic violence to help raise awareness about counseling and education programs.
Sexton said it is important for people who may be in abusive situations to seek help, including creating a safety plan to get out of a dangerous situation, such as going to a family member's house or a church.
Sexton said having such a plan is especially important when someone is trying to end a relationship. He said about 80-85 percent of domestic-violence-related homicides occur when someone is trying to get out of the relationship.
He said domestic violence often is about power. “Homicides are often the ultimate act of control, whether it's the victim themselves or killing their children, or both,” Sexton said.
Bernadine Rankin, who described herself as a long-time friend of Gabrielle Kinard, said Kinard was a bus driver for the Charlotte Area Transit System. The two met about eight or nine years ago on the job and became close because both were single mothers.
Kinard had just moved into the one-story home in the Hidden Valley neighborhood in recent months, Rankin said.
Rankin said she spent more than an hour talking with her friend Tuesday. She said Kinard was upset because Davis was not supporting the family the way he should have.
“I just talked to her,” Rankin said while standing outside Kinard's home on Sunday, “and she's not here (anymore).”
Rankin said family was very important to Kinard, especially her children. She said Kinard had just lost her mother a few months ago.
Rankin said her own mother died on a Dec. 13, the same day as her friend Gabrielle.
“She was working too hard to make ends meet,” Kinard said. “She didn't deserve this. All he had to do was leave.”
Staff writer Steve Lyttle and news researcher Brooke Cain contributed.
