Daniella Marie Blackburn. It’s important to “speak her name,” Sheryl Schwab, the CEO of Marathon’s Domestic Abuse Shelter, told Keys Weekly.
And no, it’s not Daniela with one “l.” The misspelling was in Monroe County’s arrest warrant for her alleged murderer, who was charged with shooting her in the head on July 14, 2022.
Blackburn was a bartender and artist who lived on Big Pine Key. On her Instagram page — which has the tagline “Being Weird Since 83” — the 38-year-old posted pictures of herself doing backbends on the beach and posing with flowers in her hair. She wrote about missing her family and going “through a lot of drama this year.”
But now Blackburn is a grim statistic in the overwhelming amount of domestic violence offenses in Monroe County — a number that is “significantly higher” than the rest of the state.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Schwab wants to bring attention to Blackburn and other victims like her. She is not just an uncomfortable statistic.
“She was a person who had a name,” Schwab said. “She was doing what she needed to do. She was in the shelter. She had gone to the state attorney’s office. She had gotten a no-contact order. And her perpetrator was stalking and following her. He kidnapped her, took her to a storage unit in Marathon and killed her.”
The domestic violence offense numbers in Monroe County are “statistically significantly higher than (the rest of) the state since 2013,” said Alison Kerr, a director for the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County.
“In 2022, the rate per 100,000 of domestic violence offenses in Monroe County was 497.9, compared to Florida at 305,” a state survey reported. “There are less domestic violence offenses in about three quarters of the counties.”
Sheriff Rick Ramsay said he was not surprised at all by the high numbers over the past decade — and it’s probably much more than we think, due to unreported incidents.
“I’ve been doing this for 36 years. We see a high number of domestic violence cases every year,” Ramsay said. “A couple months ago in the Upper Keys, we responded to a call where the male threw a knife at the female, and it went through her foot. It was a very violent situation. There was blood all around — a chaotic situation with yelling and screaming.”
As for why the numbers are so high in the Keys specifically, he said domestic violence is everywhere, with alcohol abuse, anger management and mental illness being triggering factors.
According to a CDC survey, nearly 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men in the country “have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.” And as family members, children and animals are affected as well.
Ramsay said the victims themselves make prosecuting the offenders difficult. In Blackburn’s case, according to county records, police had responded to other incidents involving her and her abuser. But she had “stated she did not wish to pursue charges … because ‘he has a beautiful side to him.’”
Her statement was in spite of the fact that he had once used “both of his hands to grab her by the hair and drag (her) off of the couch and onto the floor.”
“People start on good behavior, then they get deep in with a child and can’t financially (leave),” said Ramsay about victims who stay in abusive relationships.
Schwab expressed frustration at the lack of prosecution by law enforcement.
“In my opinion, all cases that should be prosecuted are not,” she said, explaining that responding officers see evidence of the victim’s struggle, and yet nothing is done about it.
Schwab said that for the man who allegedly shot Blackburn, “many hearings have been set and they keep getting continued. He can afford a lawyer — he’s avoiding jail time.”
She would like to see more prevention outreach done within the county — for example, with events at schools — but the shelter only has the funding for “half” of an employee to devote to such programming.
Besides, she said, her focus is on rebuilding the Middle Keys shelter. It was destroyed during Hurricane Irma.
“We’re trying desperately to rebuild — we’re $5 million away. That’s seven years down the road. We only have 15 beds now, and we keep them full.”
Anyone suffering from any form of domestic violence or in need of confidential support is encouraged to call the shelter’s 24-hour hotline at 305-743-4440.
For those who would like to make a donation to or volunteer for the shelter, call 305-743-5452 or go to domesticabuseshelter.org.
