In another terrifying act of domestic violence, a 26-year-old Wisconsin woman was killed while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher last week.
According to a local news report, Charniese Brown called 911 for help last Monday evening as her live-in boyfriend was attacking her.
“In listening to the recording, Ms. Brown can be heard screaming for help, crying, saying ‘he’s trying to kill me,'” said Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Angelina Gabriele at a bond hearing Wednesday afternoon for Ranon Brownlee, 51.
Brownlee was ordered to be held on a $1 million bond charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
He had accused his girlfriend of cheating on him and sent her threatening text messages the night before her murder, according to Gabriele.
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“He says you played me all weekend. Have fun tonight like it’s your last,” Gabriele quotes Brownlee as saying, according to local news reports. “You already cheated. The crime is done. The state can have my kids. They’re better off. I don’t care what happens to me. Life is over to me. I’m done. I can’t take it no more.”
Gabriele said that the six children present inside the Lincoln Park home heard the argument, but did not witness the physical violence.
According to the report, Brown called 911 for help, and dispatchers could hear the sounds of a fight, stabbing and a shotgun being fired. Just seconds after the shotgun blast, officers arrived on the scene within two minutes of the initial call to find Brown lying dead. Brownlee was still on the scene, with cuts to his hands.
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An article from Time magazine last month called domestic violence “a pandemic within the COVID-19 pandemic.” The report notes that around the world, domestic abuse reports are up by double-digits in several countries, including the United States.
Women of color are being significantly impacted by partner violence. According to Erika Sussman, executive director of the Center for Survivor Advocacy and Justice, domestic violence reports are up more than 50% for women from marginalized communities, including Black women and those with low incomes.
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