Candlelight vigil held for domestic violence victims

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The group Mothers of Murdered Offspring held a candlelight vigil to remember the lives to 36-year-old Mara Garcia and 43-year-old Marcia Winningham.

Both women were killed at the hands of their significant other this month, police said.

Winningham was gunned down inside her east Charlotte home on Oct. 4. The shooter was her estranged husband David Fields, according to police.

Then on Oct. 6, Mara Garcia was found dismembered in the back of an SUV off Dove Tree Lane on her 36th birthday.

The suspect, her boyfriend Lenin Corea, was found dead just days later. Police said he committed suicide.

Domestic violence survivors stressed the importance of getting out of violent relationships.

"You just don't let this kind of tragedy happen in Charlotte," said organizer Judy Williams. "You always wish that maybe these women will get the strength to walk away and get out before it's too late."

Williams said she spoke with Garcia's family and said they are still devastated by her death

Read more on the Dove Tree homicide here

WSOC