Murder-Suicide Involving Parkville Woman Rekindles Domestic Violence Debate
PARKVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- Three women die every day at the hands of domestic violence abusers. It's an alarming trend, especially in light of the Parkville woman killed this week at the hands of her estranged husband.
Gigi Barnett has the next step advocacy groups want to take now.
Victoria Glover, 28, was a victim of domestic violence, trapped in an allegedly abusive marriage.
Earlier this week, police say her estranged husband, 38-year-old Cory Bowman, broke the protective order against him, went to Glover's Parkville home and shot her in front of the couple's 3-year-old son.
Neighbors are in disbelief.
"I came over a couple of times to do some repairs on the house and everything seemed fine. So, you never know for sure," said Jim Phillips, landlord.
It's a disturbing case that's rekindled the debate among advocacy groups as to what more can be done to better protect domestic violence victims--like Glover.
"We have not perfected saving every life. I wish we could," said Laure Ruth, Women's Law Center.
Laure Ruth is the legal director at the Women's Law Center--an organization that works to strengthen domestic violence laws. She says Glover did everything right--filed for divorce and even pressed assault charges against Bowman.
Ruth says the Glover case will cause lawmakers to take note, and one way to cut down domestic violence may be to track the stalker with a GPS.
"So that they can be notified if he's coming within an area that he's not supposed to be," she explained.
Baltimore Police have tracked eight domestic homicides so far this year. That's up by four from this same time last year.
Meanwhile, women rights groups say domestic violence is a social issue. And they need help from family members of both victims and abusers.
"We should look to our friends and family members to support us if we're a victim, to give us what we need to be able to get out of that relationship," Ruth said. "Why is it that in interpersonal relationships, people feel that they're allowed to be violent toward their partners?"
In this case, it's a question with few answers.
Shortly after killing Glover, police say Bowman committed suicide. Police were able to link the shotgun used to kill Glover to her estranged husband.
