SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A San Marcos mother relives her daughter's murder every day to spread a message about domestic violence she says everyone needs to hear.
Catherine Shellman founded the campaign Unsilence the Violence to spread the word about domestic violence after her daughter, 23-year-old Tiffanie Perry, was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend, Kenny Trevino, in September 2010. Trevino showed up at a girls' night out, took Perry to his San Marcos apartment and shot her twice in the chest before killing himself.
Shellman said her daughter was graduating for college, moving out of the country and leaving Trevino for good after years of abuse, break-ups and reconciliation, "and he knew that," Shellman said.
To ensure what happened to her daughter doesn't happen to others, Shellman tries to generate dialogue on the issue. On Tuesday, she spread her message to students at Texas State University, the same university her daughter attended.
"What is advocating? What does that even mean? To me, it means making a change in society," Shellman said. "I want people to talk about this type of abuse."
Shellman said she wants people to talk about domestic violence and realize that anyone can be a victim.
"I think society has a view of what a victim is," Shellman said. "Tiffanie completely breaks that mold."
Shellman said her daughter was outgoing, confident, and a fitness model, not the "meak, timid" stereotype people typically assign domestic abuse victims.
Now, Shellman is taking her daughter's legacy one step further with the help of other local partners. Friends of the Family Justice center have purchased land and drawn up plans for a family justice center in Hays County. It will have all the services under one roof a person or family would need to deal with domestic violence.
Shellman said she expects the project to break ground this year.
