Domestic violence

No Charges In Stabbing Death

18-year-old Was Defending Mom 

Victim's Family Upset

March 11, 1999|By KELLI CAPLAN Daily Press

HAMPTON — An 18-year-old Buckroe woman who used a steak knife to kill a man abusing her mother last month will not be charged in his death.

Linda Curtis, Hampton commonwealth's attorney, made the decision this week after reviewing the case. The evidence, she said, shows the teen-ager was trying to defend her mother against the "imminent threat" of bodily harm. By state law, that is what must be proven to justify the use of such deadly force.

"This was a violent confrontation going on between the mother and the victim," Curtis said. "She was entitled to use deadly force."

The family of the victim, Jesse Alphonzo Hogan, 44, is upset at Curtis' conclusion. They say someone should pay for Hogan's death.

"I don't think it's right," said Mary Washington, Hogan's mother. "That is cold-blooded murder. I don't understand what they are doing.

"I don't accept that," she said. "It's an injustice that they won't charge her. That's my child. Anyone who has had feelings for a child would be feeling the same way I do."

The 18-year-old, whose name has not been released, stabbed Hogan once in the chest on Feb. 27 at a home in the 100 block of North Fourth Street. She had grabbed the knife after seeing Hogan punch, slap and try to choke her mother before throwing her headfirst into a headboard in the bedroom, Curtis said. Hogan and the woman's mother had a long-standing intimate relationship.

Police found Hogan lying on the floor of an upstairs bedroom. The teen-ager admitted to the slaying, and police quickly located the knife. She could not be reached for comment.

It was the not the first time the teen-ager had witnessed domestic violence in the home. Since July 1996, there had been 22 911 calls made from the home, many of them domestic related, Curtis said. In 1997, the 18-year-old intervened in a dispute between Hogan and her mother and was assaulted herself, Curtis said.

Hogan's family does not dispute there were domestic problems between the couple. But, they said, that is no excuse for the lack of charges.

"What is Virginia trying to say?" said Reginald Morris, Hogan's brother. "They are saying that as long as a person has a history of domestic violence, they can kill him or her and get away with it. Virginia talks so much about domestic violence and its major plans to buck it. Yet when a homicide happens in a domestic-violence case, they say 'OK, he has a domestic-violence record, there is not reason to charge anyone.'"

Curtis said that is not true. She said she analyzed the evidence before rendering a decision. Bruises on the mother and signs of a serious struggle show the woman's mother was in danger, she said. "There is no evidence to suggest anything other than this happened," said Curtis.

The family's anger, she said, is understandable.

"This a tragic situation. There's no doubt about that," Curtis said. "I can certainly understand it from their perspective. My heart goes out to them. Their loss and grief are very real."

Hopefully, Curtis and domestic violence officials said, this case will highlight the need for the community to take domestic violence seriously.

"So many lives have been hurt and it just underscores how problems can build up," said Marcy Wright, associate director of programs at the Virginia Peninsula Council on Domestic Violence. "No one has to live in violence. No one deserves that."

Wright said she did not believe "it would be helpful to second guess the commonwealth's attorney." But she did say the case shows what the effect of abuse can be on children in the home.

It is not uncommon, Wright said, for children of abuse victims to take matters into their own hands.

"Often times they feel they have to protect the parent," she said. "She took the ultimate step in doing that."

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Summary

The news tell us an other sad case of domestic violence. The newspaper tell us about the non-stop maltreatment who suffered a woman by her partner. This tragic story ended with the abuser death when the daughter of the woman, who had been witness of several attacks from domestic violence, decided to stick a knife with such to defend his mother in one of these attacks.
Synonims

Attorney: lawyerEvidence: proof, testimony
Threat: manace, intimidation, intent to hurt
State law: legal system Harm: injure, damage of a State
Confrontation: hostile meeting, conflict, combat
Entitle: give right to (autorizar)
Upset: emotionally disturbed
Cold-blooded murder: emotionless killing
Charge: ask for money (cobrar)
To stab: gash, attack with a knife
Chest: bosom (pecho)
Grabbed: snatch, take hold of 
Punch: strike, hit
Slap: hit with open hand (bofetada)
To choke: strangulate
Headfirst: recklessly
To slay: murder, kill
Reached: get to
Assaulted:Charge
Lack: shortage
Buck it: resist
Homicide: manslaughter
Rendering:execute
Struggle: difficult endeavour
Grief:sorrow
Underscores: emphasize
Build up: develop, reinforce
Deserves:merit
Guess:speculate

Núria Gibernau Mitjana and Elisa Alcaide Stumpf 2 bach. C