Murder plea reminder of issues surrounding domestic violence

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Domestic violence is a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away.

One such incident led to the murder of a woman by her husband in 2022. On Monday, the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office said Demetrius Cooper pled guilty to second-degree murder for the murder of his wife, Amy Bland Cooper. She had reported at least one incident of domestic violence before she was killed by her husband when she tried to retrieve some items at their home.

Local advocates say this case is just one example of how quickly domestic violence can turn deadly. They are urging anyone who needs help to reach out.

The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence says 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by their partner. They say in North Carolina more than 35 percent of women and 30 percent of men will experience that and stalking in their life.

Erin Passailaigue with Safe in Lenoir County said domestic violence isn’t always physical at first. She says these are some signs to look out for are:

• Wanting control
• Your partner isolating you from family or friends
• Manipulation
• Verbal abuse

“They’re not getting in fights at work, they’re not beating up their brother or other friends or people in the community,” Passailaigue said. They’re choosing to be violent with this one person. And what we usually hear is ‘why didn’t she just leave, why didn’t she just leave’ Why aren’t people asking the question why is this person abusing?” says Erin Passailaigue

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