Deaf Virginia woman killed; deaf ex-boyfriend charged with murder
In Chesapeake, Virginia, a 58-year-old deaf woman named Valarie McElroy was killed on Sunday night and police charged her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Johnson, with first-degree murder. Johnson is also deaf.
13 News Now reported that Chesapeake police went to an apartment on Sunday night for a welfare check.
When they arrived, they entered through an open window and noticed a loveseat blocking the front door. They found Valarie dead with stab wounds and Anthony unconscious with a knife by his hand and injuries to his wrists and thighs. He was taken to a hospital and then charged with murder. He is being held with no bond.
Police said in court documents that Anthony claimed that he doesn’t know what happened and doesn’t understand his charges. He has a court hearing scheduled on February 1.
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Valarie’s daughter, Candice Daniels, told 13 News Now that she received a call from her uncle on Monday that her mother “was stabbed to death by the man that she used to see.”
Candice said her mother was seeing Anthony “on and off” and “were boyfriend and girlfriend at one time” but they broke it off. Candice said she heard that Anthony was recently crossing boundaries by showing up at her mother’s job and at her home unannounced.
Candice said if she knew that there were serious problems, she would have gone to get her mother to make sure that she was safe. She felt that her mother was not sharing all the details because she didn’t want her to overreact. She told 13 News that if someone is noticing red flags in their relationship, they should let someone know before it is too late.
Candice set up a GoFundMe to celebrate the life of Valarie McElroy and to be able to “send her away with the proper celebration.” She said Valarie was a loving mother to her two daughters and that “her life was taken due to domestic violence.”
I want to share that there is a 24/7 Deaf Hotline run by the ADWAS and the NDVH that you can call, email, or live chat at any time with agents available to answer questions and provide support for domestic violence or other types of abuse. The website is thedeafhotline.org and the number is 855-812-1001.