photo: Courteousness relatives

Alba Henríquez was shot by his husband in the door of his house.

Mitzi Mace
Washington Hispanic

The anger unleashes for a violent man, who opposite to the others was presenting himself as a good father and husband caused a final tragic actor. Not only it murdered his wife to shots in the door of his house, but marked forever the destination of his children who now stay in a strange country bereft of mother and with a father in the jail.

“This was he, a violent man. It was neither the alcohol, nor the drug. It was his character what led it to killing my mom”, it points out Washington completely aggrieved and crestfallen Hispanic, 20-year-old Alexis Escobar, who to ten days of the murder of his mother cannot find answers yet to many questions that he tries to make buried at the bottom of his heart and in the deepest of his thoughts. As well as waking up of a bitter nightmare we find Alexis at his aunt's in Manassas, with a big suspense on his future and of his sister 12-year-old Ibeth.
As tell the relatives, 42-year-old Alba and Francisco Escobar of 45 was a marriage like any other, with some discussions that then they were managing to the interior of the hearth. To sorrow that Alexis says that it never saw blows, yes he affirms that his father constantly was accusing his mother without unfaithful meaning of life for which it was insulting it and was ill-treating it psychologically since they came to the United States in 2001.
On Wednesday, the 18th of February a discussion between Dawn and Francisco rose of tone having to intervene Alexis, the elder son of the couple. Immediately Dawn called the police and they took arrested Francisco. According to the declarations of the relatives it was not the first time that Dawn was calling the authorities, but Francisco was convincing it from that it was withdrawing the charges.
“ They are going to pay it to me, and I am going to treat you as”, my father threatened any man.
After this violent incident, Dawn came to ask for help to the Advice on Domestic Violence Rappahannock and they said to him that they could only give hostel to her and to his daughter and that to attend to his 20-year-old son they should realize a few steps. For this reason Dawn decided to return to his hearth since it was feeling safe for the order of restriction that the police had put to his husband.
Dawn and his children never imagined that one day later, his husband would pay the deposit to go out at large and to go to his house with only one target: to finish with the life of his wife.
It was Friday, the 20th of February at 2:30 p.m. and Dawn was going out of his domicile located in Stattford, Virginia along with his son Alexis, who was going in another vehicle when suddenly they were surprised for incensed father who arms in hand realized several shots giving like turned out the death of Alba Escobar, who there stopped existing in the hospital Mary Washington where it was moved immediately.
According to account Alexis to Washington Hispanic, his father was using firearm, but it sold it some months ago therefore he does not know how it is that it had access to a weapon to do what it did.
Francisco Escobar is recluído in the regional Rappahannock jail without right to deposit in expectation of the judgment for murder in the first grade. “I do not have anything that to say, only that should pay for what it did”, affirms Alexis.
After the funeral services realized in Manassas, the remains of Alba Escobar rest in peace in his native Usulatán, El Salvador where his parents and brothers gave him Christian grave.
For his part the Network of Hispanic Women of Virginia they were mobilized to do all the possible so that the murder of Alba Escobar stays in the anónimato. The Network organized a wakefulness in memory of Alba Escobar in Hurkamp Park, Frederickburg, last Tuesday, the 23rd d February up to where there came tens wives, neighbors and friends of Alba Escobar to protest against the domestic violence.
Help Fund
In the first moment the possibility fought that the children would go away to live with his uncle in California, but there is yet nothing definite because so much Alexis and Ibeth feel at ease remaining here at his aunt's Rosaura's, who is for them like the second mom. Ibeth already began his classes in a new school and Alexis works and wants to study electrical engineering. To help this two young people a fund has been created in memory of Alba Escobar across the Advice on Domestic Violence Rappahannock in the Union Bank and Trust in coordination with the program of victims and witnesses of the county of Stattford. The persons who want to help straight Alexis and to his sister Ibeth to initiate a new life can collaborate in the account of the Bank of America #435008111634.

Photo: Álvaro Ortiz/Washington Hispanic.

Natalia Otero Co-directora of SAFE, Inc.

Emergency line

According to the statistics

A woman is attacked by his partner every
l5 seconds

The majority of calls of domestic violence is got for the police after 5 a.m. p.m., the weekends and holiday, and it is precisely in this schedule where less resources are to help in cases of an emergency for domestic violence. To fulfill this shortcoming the organization SAFE threw this week the first emergency line in Spanish SAFE/Acción who attends from Monday until Friday of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 24 hours the weekends and traded.
This line will allow a better work as a whole between the agencies of domestic violence, the courts and the police with the intention of serving in a more efficient way to the victims of domestic violence. Across Action Line of free Emergency, the persons who answer the phone are able to provide information about orders of protection, victims' compensation of crimes, accommodation and refuge. Of equal way across this line 1-866-962-5048 the persons will find legal and personalized consultancy that they even even can help to obtain an emergency protection order in hours when the court is closed.