Loved ones left behind share grief in memorial for domestic violence victims

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Teary eyed and wearing a gold necklace she’d given her daughter as a third-grader, Metia Linear spoke about the death of her child.

Her daughter, Geranique Bentley, 20, was strangled and her body left abandoned and partially burned against an apartment complex wall in March.

Her boyfriend, who is facing a murder charge, told Metro Police detectives that he killed her during an argument and wanted to burn her corpse to destroy evidence.

“At the end of the day,” Linear said, a “Geranique” pendant hanging from a chain around her neck, “when I visit my daughter, I have to go to the cemetery; his parents can come here and visit him.”

Bentley was one of 21 victims of fatal domestic violence slayings in the Las Vegas area from July 1, 2016, to June 30.

On Wednesday, loved ones of victims were accompanied by law enforcement personnel, advocates and community members for the yearly Domestic Violence Memorial Unveiling of a plaque with the names of the slaying victims.

In a room at Metro headquarters, 22 white roses tied with purple ribbons — with the names of the victims inscribed on them — were placed on a clear vase as each name was called one by one. The 22nd was dedicated to “unknown victims.”

Just as the yearly ceremony has become customary — this was the 20th such event — so have the wishful thoughts from officials who’ve expressed they'd rather the ceremony not take place.

“This is one of those moments every year that I struggle with, because I really don’t want to be here,” Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said. “I don’t want to be here because this year we’re adding 21 names to these plaques.”

But with “each one of these names, there’s a life behind them,” he said.

In Bentley’s case, she left behind her mother, but also her 10-year-old brother with whom she was close, constantly calling him no matter where she was, and accompanying him to taekwondo, Linear said. “I just take it day by day. I also try to talk to her brother, keep him uplifted, and keep him busy.”

And she also had a life of her own. “She was a beautiful, beautiful child,” Linear said. “She had a big soul, helped everyone and she was a fighter.”

The 20-year-old played the violin, wrote music and poems, Linear said. “She was a good kid.”

Nevada constantly ranks as one of the top spots in the country for women who are murdered by men, the majority being domestic violence incidents.

A report that evaluated the 2015 — and latest — data, which was released this week places the state in the No. 2 spot, according to the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.

A specific and clear theory as to why Nevada ranks so high hasn’t been penned.

But the phenomenon has no age, gender or social barriers, McMahill said. Bentley was one of the youngest people honored on Wednesday, while the oldest was Marilyn Guidry, 86, who was allegedly beaten and shot in the middle of the street by her grandson in October.

There’s also Stella Martinez, 39, who was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend, who was caught by a Metro officer as he had one hand around her unconscious body, and another wrapped around her red hair outside a home in June.

Elynne Greene, manager of Metro’s victim service and human trafficking unit, recalled the first fatal-victims ceremony at a hotel bowling alley more than 20 years ago. “Every year as we prepare for this, we really hope that it’s our last, but already we will be adding names in next year’s plaque, we just hope that eventually we have a celebration instead of a memorial service.”

With the opening of Metro’s Family Justice Center, a resource hub for people suffering from domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, slated to open in November, the wishful thinking can come closer to reality, McMahill said.

“I believe that we can do a far better job than we’ve been doing in the prevention,” he said. To let victims know “that there’s help out there, that there’s opportunity out there, and that if they don’t take affirmative steps they too can be a name on this plaque.”

The ceremony was closed out by Metro Capt. Kelly McMahill’s a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace” that further quieted the solemn room.