SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — Southeastern South Dakota has seen two tragic cases of domestic violence recently that resulted in the deaths of two women.

Timber Rose Cournoyer was allegedly stabbed by her boyfriend, Adrian Lund, in Yankton the evening of May 22. She reportedly knocked on a neighbor’s door before collapsing in the hallway and yelled “Adrian.” When the neighbor opened the door, Cournoyer said, “He stabbed me.” The victim was taken to the hospital where she died. 

Police arrested Lund the next day while he was leaving his apartment. He is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and possession of a controlled substance. Lund is currently being held in the Yankton County jail on a $500,000 cash bond.

Jordan Beardshear was murdered in Dakota Dunes on April 25. The suspect in that case is Alfredo Castellanos-Rosales, the father of their one-year-old child. Castellanos-Rosales was arrested May 12 in Mexico and charged with one count each of first-degree and second-degree murder. He appeared in Webb County District Court in Texas for an extradition hearing where he agreed to be returned to Union County, South Dakota.               

KELOLAND News reached out to local domestic violence shelters to ask about services and advice for people in domestic violence situations. 

The overwhelming advice from the shelters was to prepare a plan to leave the situation safely and find their support systems.

“We really look to do more in the space of prevention, so helping communities see not only does this happen in our community, because it happens in every community, but it’s really a public health issue,” executive director of the River City Domestic Violence Center in Yankton Cassie Nagel said. “If we really want to prevent this from happening that’s going to take every single member of the community being more aware, having more understanding and being part of the solution to prevent.”

According to Sandy Sullivan, the executive director of Domestic Violence Safe Operations Services in Vermillion, people can contact the facility by their hotline number (605-624-5311), Facebook page or through the Domestic Shelters national website. 

“Sometimes they just need someone to listen to them and help them understand that they may be in an abusive relationship,” Sullivan said. “Most of the time their own gut feeling or intuition is telling them that that may be what’s happening, but they’re not sure, we can help them go through the process.”

The Vermillion facility does not have a long-term shelter, but they do house people temporarily, help with relocation, offer rape kits for sexual assault victims and will go to court with victims to offer support when getting a civil protection order.

Sullivan says around 700-800 people utilize the Vermillion services a year. The River City Domestic Violence Center had 310 clients in 2022. 

“Statistically, it takes up to seven times to leave,” Anna Meredith, the education and survivor services coordinator at the Yankton shelter, said. “So when you’re ready, there are agencies like ours that are here for you. Whether it takes one time, the first time you decide to leave or it takes seven times, we are here. We are a non-judgmental agency; we are here to help at every step of the way.”

Domestic Shelters is a mobile and searchable directory of domestic violence shelters and programs in the U.S. and Canada. If you are a victim of domestic violence, contact the national hotline 800-799-7233. The number is available 24/7.