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Domestic Violence is more than marital discord. It’s serious and often creates scenarios where a police search for missing spouse or girlfriend, presumed deceased. One such instance is Danielle T. Brown of Leon CO., FL. Her body has yet to be found. Her alleged killer is in jail for torching her car.
Fortunately for Stephanie Lewis of Jackson, TN., the outcome was that her life was spared - barely.
Stephanie Lewis’s estranged husband, Derrick allegedly kidnaped her from The Jackson Clinic Friday, July 2, 2010. Her Country’s Independence weekend celebration wasn’t spent enjoying good food and setting off fireworks with friends and family. She had fireworks of her own to deal with; mainly, surviving hours of horror in a hot closet of a vacant home with no electricity while she was hogtied and gagged.
Of course they looked at Derrick first as the POI because back in April of 2010 he was alleged to have attacked Stephanie, have charges brought against him and then bond out of jail.
When the police located Derrick Friday night he ran and they gave a chase on foot; after capture and during questioning he told them where they could find Stephanie. They di d find Stephanie around 2:00 Saturday morning at the location he advised she'd be, but she was dehydrated from spending hours in the dark hot closet, without water. We are yet to discover what else Derrick Lewis put her through in the hours before LE took him in for questioning.
Fortunately, the previous bond has been revoked; a bond of 500,000 has been set with the aggravating kidnaping charges though. Eluding a police officer should be added to those charges, if they haven’t already. And I feel he shouldn’t be allowed to bond out, to me he’s a flight risk since he ran from LE when they located him; more important, to me, he is a risk to Stephanie’s safety.
Sadly, prison time (if a true bill is found by the grand jury and in trial he is found guilty on all charges) will not be long enough, he won’t spend that many years locked behind bars. Not only will the sentence he’s given not punishment enough, it’s also possible Stephanie will not be advised of his release when his sentence in over or he is paroled. Nor will it mean he won’t stew while locked up and continue blame Stephanie for his faults.
Stephanie could do well to check out Susan Murphy Milano’s book, ‘Time’s Up’- A Guide How to Escape Abusive and Stalking Relationships. Although LE knows the history of Derrick Lewis’s abusive past - again sadly, it doesn’t mean they could find anything substantial should Stephanie go missing in the future and become another of the many unfound missing persons like Danielle Brown.
You hit the nail on the head. Although this man is in jail, it doesn't always mean the victim should feel safe. No one knows his connections outside of the jail and what he may be able to direct from behind bars. All too often there is a false sense of security. Thanks, again, for recommending Time's Up, this is definitely a time when she should get all her ducks in a row and get the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit done.
ReplyDeleteThe creep was arrainged and did lose his freedom with the previous domestic violence charges. Stephanie is safe for now.
ReplyDeleteDelilah, 'Although this man is in jail, it doesn't always mean the victim should feel safe'
ReplyDeleteThat comment and the 'he is in jail, I am safe' false sense of security' is exactly why I worry about Stephanie just as I am concerned about Jeanette Barouch (her husband 'allegedly' sent her the bomb she found on her porch) Their safety must become paramount to them and each seriously need to use The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit to ensure if anything happens in the future their ex spouse would be the first person LE looks at for answers.
The rest of the book as well as chpater 4 can give them so much information on how to be safe.
It's sad to say that people judge before they know the whole matter. I do not agree with what Derrick did but I also know there was a reason for why he did the crime. She is not as innocent as one would believe her to be. I will not go directly into details about why he did what he did but I will say it was a provoking from Stephanie he could not handle. I will now say that Derrick is not a threat to Stephanie anymore not because he is doing time but because he realizes that it's over and he cannot go back and change what he did but learn from his actions. Stephanie has moved on and remarried.
DeleteAnonymous April 16, 2013 at 1:38 PM
ReplyDeleteI understand your sympathy for the abuser, you apparently know him and it's hard to see a darker side of one we care about, but no excuse is a right excuse to do what he did. He should be in jail and hopefully will stay there for a very long time. Glad to hear Stephanie has moved on with her life. Sadly, moving on won't erase what happen to her from her mind. She will always look behind her. I hope she has gotten help dealing with the trauma Derrick inflicted on her.
TigressPen