Adebayo, Bricker
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.
Punch
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