A Beaufort County man and a Jasper County woman are among more than a score of South Carolina's victims of fatal domestic violence remembered during a Tuesday, Oct. 6 ceremony in our state capital.
Attorney General Alan Wilson led participants through the 29th annual Silent Witness Ceremony held at the S.C. State Capitol Complex in Columbia. During the solemn ceremony, Wilson called the names of 30 women and 10 men from across the state who lost their lives in 2025 as a result of domestic violence.
Among those remembered were Dennis Recker, 81, of Beaufort County, and Christine Gonzalez, 46, of Jasper County.
Recker was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2025, and his 82-year-old wife charged with the killing. Gonzalez was shot and killed in her Hardeeville
home on April 29 of that year. Her spouse was found dead by a self-inflicted wound, according to multiple media reports.
During the ceremony, family members and friends carried life-sized silhouettes, each representing a victim. As the silhouettes were brought to the State House steps, a bell was rung to honor each victim. An additional silhouette was carried to represent potential unknown victims.
Wilson, religious leaders, and other community members made special remarks to highlight the problem of domestic violence in our state.
“Each name we read today represents a life taken, a family grieving, and a community forever changed,” said Attorney General Wilson in a SCAG's Office release. “We honor these victims by remembering them and continuing our work to support survivors, hold abusers accountable, and strengthen South Carolina’s response to domestic violence.”
Changes to the FBI’s crime reporting system have affected the Violence Policy Center’s ability to publish annual state rankings. While state rankings remain unavailable, its 2023 report analyzed 25 years of data, and South Carolina was consistently in the top 10 states from 1996 to 2020, except in 2018, when it ranked 11th, and 2020, when it ranked 23rd, stated the release.
The Center’s latest publication, released in September 2026, examined 2024 homicide data. Although South Carolina’s rate of women killed by men has declined overall since its peak in 1998, it remained above the national average in 2024. Their summary analysis also reported that nine out of ten women are killed by men they know, and almost two-thirds die by gunfire.
In a more recent case in the town of Yemassee, which borders Beaufort and Hampton counties, Stephen Henson, 61, and Ann Henson, 56, were killed in August 2026, according to multiple media outlets, in an apparent murder-suicide in Hampton County.
A statistical breakdown for each county is available at: https://www.scag.gov/inside-the-office/criminal-division/special-prosecution/violence-against-women-act-vawa/
Below is the complete list of victims remembered and honored during the Silent Witness ceremony.
2026 Silent Witness Victims
Tayler Maraj24 years oldAnderson County
Stephanie Hicks42 years oldBamberg County
Dennis Recker81 years oldBeaufort County
Angel Capers38 years oldBerkeley County
Darlisha McIlwain43 years oldBerkeley County
Janet Crouch37 years oldCharleston County
Cheryl Gaydos47 years oldCharleston County
Einar Bordallo Godoy39 years oldCharleston County
Laury Villalobos Soler
34 years oldCharleston County
Vantazia Campbell29 years oldDillon County
James Abraham46 years oldFlorence County
Crislyn McFarlan23 years oldFlorence County
Patrick McKenzie54 years oldFlorence County
Christopher Sullivan40 years oldFlorence County
Catherine Jones84 years oldGreenville County
Ana Belen Martinez-Argueta34 years oldGreenville County
Kenoshia Wheeler29 years oldGreenville County
Christine Gonzalez46 years oldJasper County
Carol Wilson Baker60 years oldLee County
Porsha Ivey34 years oldLee County
Tanasia Parker30 years oldLee County
Gaude Hughes45 years oldLexington County
Azia Lock27 years oldMarion County
Rose Kewlani52 years oldNewberry County
Michele Gillis60 years oldOrangeburg County
Michael Anthony Howell35 years oldOrangeburg County
Crystal Pace41 years oldPickens County
Zakiyah Hanna Ali30 years oldRichland County
Mauricio Garcia52 years oldRichland County
Silvia Bolanos Ojeda36 years oldRichland County
Monique Worthy42 years oldRichland County
Kimberly Leon52 years oldSaluda County
Lina Samarel45 years oldSpartanburg County
James Elvington60 years oldSumter County
Akinyele Johnson25 years oldSumter County
Felicia Leonard76 years oldSumter County
Dewey Donnelly35 years oldWilliamsburg County
Leonor Alpizar37 years oldYork County
Glenda Gregorio28 years oldYork County
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Victims remembered during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
