Every minute, nearly 24 women are victims of rape;
domestic violence by their lovers or intimate partners in the
United States. More than 12million women have been
physically abused, assaulted or killed by domestic
violence. Women, between ages 18 and 35, experience all
forms of abuses from their intimate partners.
The World Health Organisation reports that each year, 35
per cent of women globally, are sexually and physically
assaulted by their loved ones.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, in recent
findings on domestic violence in America, concluded that
one in five women had been slapped, kicked, beaten, raped
and assaulted in their lifetime.
Behavioural scientists researched and opined that domestic
violence begins when a partner has the urge to emotionally
control and dominate his or her partner in an intimate
relationship, as a result of low self-esteem and extreme
jealousy.
“This domination then takes the form of emotional, physical
or sexual abuse. Studies suggest that violent behaviour
often is caused by an interaction of situational and
individual factors. That means that abusers learn violent
behaviour from their family, people in their community and
other cultural influences as they grow up. They may have
seen violence often or they may have been victims
themselves,” says Toby G Goldsmith.
On October 5th 2003, Victor Chukwunka Achonu, then 53,
brutally and savagely sliced his then wife, Ebele Achonu in
Raleigh North Carolina. The crime of passion was fuelled by
accusations of marital infidelity. Achonu suspected his 33-
year-old wife was cheating on him with another man. That
Sunday morning, the police reported that Achonu assaulted
his wife with a machete after an argument, and then
inflicted serious injuries on her. He allegedly came from
behind and attacked her while she was on the phone,
complaining to a relative in Nigeria that she was no longer
happy in her marriage to Victor. Victor hit her with a severe
blow that knocked her out. He then viciously began to slice
her with the machete. The injuries she suffered included,
compressed rear skull fracture, amputated right hand and
laceration to her left shoulder. Ebele fell in a pool of her
own blood; Victor fled the house into a nearby bush. He
was captured later that day after an intensive manhunt by
the Raleigh Police. One year later, he was sentenced in
2004, to nearly 20 years in prison for attempted first degree
murder. It’s been almost eleven years since the incident.
Ebele has remarried and quietly lives in the same city
where her life nearly ended. Victor Achonu continues to
serve prison term. He is due to be released in 2019, at
about 70 years. Ebele Achonu politely declined request for
interview with regards to the sad part of her life: “No, thank
you Azuka” was her response to a text message requesting
a chat with her. She carries an everlasting reminder and
charred scar of her violent past in the hands of her ex-
husband; she lost one arm to the marriage.
The circles of domestic violence towards women are as old
as the American pie. In most cases, domestic violence had
led to death of women in the hands of the ones that once
professed love to them. The recent case of a young
Nigerian girl killed by her ex-boyfriend is a reminder of how
vicious domestic violence has rooted in America’s lifestyle.
Mariam Folashade Adebayo was a charming dark and
lovely young girl with a bright future. Two years ago, she
graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in
Public Health. After her graduation, she began to chase the
beautiful dreams of a great life ahead of her, living the life of
an unblemished normal young beautiful girl in the city.
Mariam met Donald Bricker, a 27-year-old white crook. He
charmed Mariam and something in both of them stirred.
Donald had a criminal background. He was a third degree
sex offender, convicted in 2009. He hid his past from young,
innocent Mariam.
In Maryland, sexual offence in the Third Degree is detailed
in the status thus: (a) A person may not: (1) (i) engage in
sexual contact with another without the consent of the
other; and (ii) 1. Employ or display a dangerous weapon, or
a physical object that the victim reasonably believes is a
dangerous weapon; 2. Suffocate, strangle, disfigure, or
inflict serious physical injury on the victim or another in the
course of committing the crime; (3) Threaten, or place the
victim in fear, that the victim, or an individual known to the
victim, imminently will be subject to death, suffocation,
strangulation, disfigurement, serious physical injury, or
kidnapping; or (4) commit the crime while aided and
abetted by another; (2) engage in sexual contact with
another if the victim is a mentally defective individual, a
mentally incapacitated individual, or a physically helpless
individual, and the person performing the act knows or
reasonably should know the victim is a mentally defective
individual, a mentally incapacitated individual, or a
physically helpless individual; (3) engage in sexual contact
with another if the victim is under the age of 14 years, and
the person performing the sexual contact is at least four
years older than the victim; (4) engage in a sexual act with
another if the victim is 14 or 15 years old, and the person
performing the sexual act is at least 21 years old; or (5)
engage in vaginal intercourse with another if the victim is
14 or 15 years old, and the person performing the act is at
least 21 years old. (b) A person who violates this section is
guilty of the felony of sexual offence in the third degree and
on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10
years.
Donald Bricker served his prison term and was released
into the populace where he met Mariam and they began
dating. It wasn’t immediately clear what went wrong in the
relationship. It lasted six months. Mariam decided the
relationship wasn’t what she wanted. She stopped seeing
Donald. But Donald had been captivated by her young love.
He became obsessed and stalked Mariam. He wanted her
back. He called her several times and pleaded with her to
take him back. But Mariam was moving forward with her
life. Donald kept up the pressure. Last week, Donald
pleaded with Mariam to meet him at the parking lot of a
Germantown Target store. Mariam agreed to meet her ex to
resolve any issue from their past relationship after he
threatened to kill himself if she didn’t meet to talk with him.
She offered to meet if that would save his life. But Donald
came to the meeting with a loaded gun. Minutes after
Mariam arrived at the parking lot; Donald arrived and asked
Mariam to join him in his car. She did. Suddenly passersby
began to notice a scuffle inside Donald’s vehicle between
the two. Mariam then got out of his car and walked away.
Donald chased her with his gun and shot her as she walked
away from him. He fled the scene as Mariam fell to the floor
of the parking lot. Donald Bricker was ultimately arrested
after crashing his vehicle. He is being charged with first
degree murder, police said. Donald Bricker has a criminal
history in Maryland and is on the state’s sex offender
registry. Mariam Shade Adebayo recently got a new job.
She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
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