Domestic violence victims remembered in solemn ceremony

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Friday, Oct. 7, 2016 | 2 a.m.

It's a ceremony that police officers and victim advocates would rather not take place.

In a room at Metro Police's headquarters — one by one and as names inscribed on ribbons tied to the flowers were called out — officers, officials and community members walked up to a clear vase to deposit a white rose.

Each rose — 32 of them — signified the name of a person slain in Las Vegas in domestic-violence-related incidents from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.

A 33rd rose was dedicated to "unknown victims."

The ceremony, which dates back to 1997, is organized by Metro and the Community Coalition for Victims' Rights to coincide with the kickoff of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Rows of tables where attendees, which included families of victims, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and officers sat, faced a stage where a plaque bearing the name of each victim was unveiled before the names were read.

Eight plaques from previous years were also displayed.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Nevada "consistently" ranks No. 1 in domestic violence fatalities. Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill quantified the figure by saying such deaths contribute to 25 to 35 percent of homicides Metro investigates each year.

Speaking about the dedication held 20 years ago, Elynne Greene said: "We closed the ceremony by saying, 'Next year we won't have a plaque, we're just going to celebrate our success.' And unfortunately, here we are in 2016, and we're still bringing another plaque. We still have more names added."

Greene is the manager of Metro’s Victims Services and Human Trafficking unit. The community hasn't "been able to stop senseless violence, but continues to learn, (creating) a seamless process to make the journey a lot safer, and a lot less daunting for those trying to leave abusive relationships," she said.

Those efforts will be boosted in the spring when Metro, in conjunction with advocate groups, will open the Southern Nevada Family Justice Center.

The hub, located on Mojave Road between Washington Avenue and Bonanza Road, will house services geared for domestic violence and sex trafficking victims under one roof.

Organizations that have pledged collaboration include Metro, the District Attorney's Office, Safe Nest, the Rape Crisis Center, Hermandad Mexicana and the Salvation Army.

Additionally, the Harbor, a juvenile assessment center with similar resources, also will begin operating about the same time, McMahill said.

He said seeing the names of so many victims, 516 since 1996, is difficult and that his "hair (was) sticking straight right up on my arms and the back of my neck because I'm surrounded by the plaques that bare the names of people who lost their live too early."

As Metro Lt. Kelly McMahill, dressed in her tan police uniform, sang "Amazing Grace" acapella, Rose Floyd wiped away tears.

Floyd's daughter, Veronica Caldwell, 33, her granddaughter, Yvonne Reyes, 18, and Reyes' boyfriend, Cory Childers, 21, were gunned down by Caldwell's husband, who then took his life, on March 3, 2015.

She showed up to Metro's headquarters hoping their names would be read because she said she wasn't informed of last year's ceremony when they were. "But I'm glad to be a part of it for other people."

Losing a family member to domestic violence "is the most horrific, unbelievable ... it's unreal, it's a horror I live with every single day. You never believe that something like this is going to happen."

Floyd said she doesn't know why her daughter's husband would kill them and "likes to think he went crazy."

She said enough time hasn't passed to be more involved, but that participating in events like Thursday's makes her stronger.

The victims aren't numbers, Kevin McMahill said. "They're people, they are families, they are mothers and fathers, and sisters, and brothers, and aunts and uncles. They are lives who will never be the same because we could not do something to stop that act of domestic violence that ended in death."

What would Caldwell tell victims of domestic violence? "Tell somebody," she said. "Tell somebody you're in danger."