Family member, domestic violence advocate pay respects to slain mother
Family member, domestic violence advocate pay respects to slain mother
A young mother is being laid to rest Sunday. While the man charged with her murder has already spent time in prison for killing another woman. The family of that original victim spoke with FOX 26's Chelsea Edwards about how they're working to prevent another tragedy.
HOUSTON - A young mother was laid to rest Sunday. The man charged with her murder previously served 12 years in prison for killing another woman.
"He put five bullets into my daughter, so basically he did a year and a half for every bullet he put in her, then he was out walking the streets," says Dr. Michael Carn, Sr.
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On August 21, 2004, in Charlotte, North Carolina, his daughter Marsheida Dorsey was murdered by her live-in boyfriend Charles Combs. Combs pled guilty and spent twelve years in prison.
"I was writing. I was trying to contact the DA. I tried to contact a lot of different agencies," says Carn of his efforts to prevent Combs’s release.
On October 24, 2021, five years after Combs walked free, 30-year-old LaPorscha Baldwin was laid to rest after her body was found in South Carolina. She was the mother of an 18-month old and another ex-girlfriend of Combs. Combs was arrested in Myrtle Beach, S.C, and has been denied bond after being charged with her murder.
"Now this nightmare for everybody is coming back up because of this one individual who just doesn't care about life," says Carn.
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After his daughter's death, he moved to the Houston area and married Dr. Ladera "Purposed" Carn. She serves people impacted by domestic violence through her organization D'vine Destiny Ministry & Crisis Center. She is also a 21-year survivor of domestic abuse.
"My ex used to tell me, ‘if you ever leave me, I'm going to kill your mother, your father, your whole household," she says. "All those years you want to leave, but you can't because this person is telling you ‘don't nobody want you, you're nothing, you'll never be anything. You’re hearing all this stuff, and you’re believing everything they say."
Marsheida reportedly told family she was leaving Combs after opening up about his physical abuse, including a time he sent her to the hospital after fracturing her spine. Baldwin had already broken up with Combs when she went missing. Carn says leaving an abuser takes strategy.
"Always get in touch with someone like me, a domestic violence organization. We take them from one location to a private location, with the family, where there's no record where they're being left," she explains.
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D'vine Destiny hosted its annual balloon and butterfly release Saturday, held every year during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in remembrance of Marsheida. This year, it honored LaPorscha as well.
"Not just October, this is something we should be doing every single day, talking about it because it is happening every day," adds Dr. Carn.
The organization also honors people lost to domestic violence and celebrates others who have left their abusers, hoping that by sharing their stories, they can make more victims into survivors.
To contact the D'vine Destiny Ministry & Crisis Center, call 832-368-5859.