Vernetta Cockerham-Ellerbee peeled back the curtain of her bedroom window and saw the man she once loved enough to marry. Hunched over in a field across the street, Richard Ellerbee toiled, shoveling clumps of dirt over his shoulder. She glanced past him to the nearby police station in this rural Piedmont town of 2,000. She [...]
Vernetta Cockerham-Ellerbee peeled back the curtain of her bedroom window and saw the man she once loved enough to marry.
Hunched over in a field across the street, Richard Ellerbee toiled, shoveling clumps of dirt over his shoulder. She glanced past him to the nearby police station in this rural Piedmont town of 2,000. She spotted one of the department’s nine officers just beyond the station’s front door.
Cockerham-Ellerbee rang the station: He’s back, she whispered. He was once again violating the judge’s order to stay away. Police didn’t catch Ellerbee that day. Cockerham-Ellerbee repeatedly reported her husband’s threats during the summer and fall of 2002. He never spent a night in jail.
She didn’t know what he was up to with the shovel until he called days later to explain: He was digging graves to bury her and the children.
Yet another great multimedia piece from the kids in Raleigh. Travis Long delivers a heartbreaking story of abuse and a failed system designed to protect, that left one family member dead and left for dead. The threats of “You will die, I will kill you” and the stories of him digging graves for the family members bodies sent shivers down my spine. It’s one thing to read it, it’s another to hear it in the victim’s voice.
2 Responses
Thanks for the post. It’s been a crazy few months here in Raleigh to say the least: http://travislongphoto.com/blog/?p=45
Thank you so much Travis for the posted comment and story. This is Vernetta’s paralegal, Pamela….I am sure that you will remember me! Vernetta and I will never forget you for the hard work you put in to bringing this story. The website, http://www.promiseofprotection.com was named after you and Mandy Locke, the writer. The website is newly posted and still under construction but we felt it necessary to post it as it is so far. Check it out! Pamela