Stephanie Goodloe: Single mom killed by ex-boyfriend while daughter slept, police say
Stephanie Goodloe was a 40-year-old youth ministry worker at her church in Washington, D.C. and she was good at what she did.
Talking to the Washington Post, her pastor, the Rev. Leroy Gilbert, said," she was more than a wonderful person. She was one of those miracles of God."
She was also a mother. Talking to Fox 5, Dan, a neighbor of Goodloe, said, "She was devoted to her daughter. Her daughter came first. Always buying books, always very proud of her accomplishments. It was always so nice to see them go to church on Sunday."
She and her 12-year-old daughter were living alone after Goodloe separated from her boyfriend, 49-year-old Donald Hairston -- and the two had been having trouble, reportedly with Hairston's cheating.
Goodloe did all the things you're supposed to do in a domestic violence situation: She called police. She logged threats made against her.
She had a temporary protection order against Hairston and called police several times to report the threats he had been making. None of those proactive measures saved her.
Police say Hairston shot and killed Goodloe in her home early Saturday while her daughter was present. Police say Goodloe was shot multiple times.
Hairston has been charged with first-degree murder, but the real question is why didn't those protective orders prompt police to be more vigilante about the threat Hairston allegedly posed?
Goodloe detailed weeks ago that her estranged boyfriend showed up at her home unannounced in the dark early hours of June 4, pounding on the door. He came and left and came again and left again, each time yelling her name. When she finally opened the door to leave later that day, she discovered that three of her car tires had been slashed, she told the court.
On Friday, she told police that her ex-boyfriend had made a menacing call to her at work, threatening her.
On Saturday, she was dead. Gone from this Earth.
The incident has shocked neighbors, including Lucinda Shepperson, who lived next door to Goodloe.
"After this happened, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't sleep," Shepperson told WUS9-TV. "I went to the grocery store, all I could tink about was Stephanie. It shouldn't have happened. Just shouldn't have happened."
"He knew she had a child. Why would he do a thing like that?" Shepperson said. "This child is going to have to be raised by someone else without a mother."
Dr. Brynez Roane, an administrator at My Sister's Place, a domestic violence center in D.C.. said that more women are seeking their services due to domestic situations they're dealing with.
"Typically this is happening every day to our ladies and we're fighting every day to really make sure we can advocate for resources in the community," she told NBC News.
The Washington, D.C., area has seen an increase in the number of protection orders being filed, according to NBC News. "It shows progress ... that's amazing," Roane told NBC.
Yes, it is amazing, but can the system save them before it's too late?
