When remembering Jenny Vaughn-Bates was killed by her estranged husband last September, her friend, Tracy Lane, has to shut down her emotions.
She’s still numb nearly a year later after her 38-year-old friend’s murder, as Lane and a committee of women have planned a memorial No Woman, No Cry 5k Walk to benefit victims of domestic violence.
Vaughn-Bates was killed when her husband, 42-year-old Robert Bates of Nokesville, drove the couple to Montclair, pulled out a gun, shot her and then turned the gun on himself.
Lane attended Potomac Senior High School in Woodbridge with Vaughn-Bates in the late 1980s. She said the death of her friend has not only been hard on her, but also on members of their graduating class.
“People don’t understand domestic violence. Even our former classmates have been divided with some of them asking ‘why she didn’t just leave?’ But she did leave, she had left. We have no clue how she ended up with him [her ex-husband who also killed himself] that night, but she was in the process of a divorce and selling the house.”
Vaughn-Bates was a community services therapist and worked as an employment specialist for Prince William County. She is survived by her two sons.
“It’s too overwhelming if I think about what happened to Jenny,” said Lane. “But this committee all cared about her and we want to make sure that her death wasn’t in vain.”
There are currently 100 people registered to walk during the event which takes place on Sunday, Sept. 18th at Forest Park High School.
Registrations can be taken online and proceeds benefit the Jenny Vaughn-Bates Memorial Trust and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
