Darrell Stead carries a red Silent Witness silhouette bearing the photo of his late cousin, Cori Stead, to lead a memorial walk from All Stop to the Rosebud Community Center. Photo by Vi Waln
Rosebud Residents Walk to Remember Murder Victim
By Vi Waln ROSEBUD, SD – Local residents joined family members to walk with the red Silent Witness silhouettes to remember a Rosebud woman who was brutally murdered by her domestic partner. Cornelia “Cori” Stead, 43, was beaten and fatally stabbed by Isack Mahad Abdinur in her Sioux City, Iowa, home on June 23, 2015. Stead was an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Abdinur, 35, is charged with first degree murder, criminal trespass and failure to obey a police officer. He was scheduled to appear in court on July 6 to enter a plea to the murder charge. His bond for the three criminal charges is set at $1,002,000.00. If he is convicted on the first degree murder charge, he faces a life sentence in prison without parole.
Local women carry red Silent Witness silhouettes in memory of Cori Stead, who was murdered by her domestic partner on June 23 in Sioux City, Iowa. The man is facing first degree murder charges and a possible life sentence in prison. Photo by Vi Waln
The walk took place near the Rosebud Fairgrounds. Family members and friends of the victim, along with members of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, organized the walk. Darrell and Audrey Stead, who are relatives of Cori, led several women and children from All Stop to the Rosebud Community Center. Many of the walkers carried red Silent Witness silhouettes, each bearing a picture of Cori. Janet Routzen, Executive Director of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, shared words of encouragement with the family members. Charlene LaPointe sang a prayer song. She also led the women in giving a trill for all the women who feel they are trapped in a domestic violence situation, in the hopes they will find the strength and courage to get out while they still can. Each red Silent Witness silhouette represents a woman who was murdered by a man who once professed to love her. The silhouettes on the Rosebud Reservation all represent a local tribal woman who was killed by her partner. They are placed to bring awareness to the danger many tribal women face in domestic violence situations.
The red Silent Witness silhouettes were on display at the Rosebud Community Center last week in memory of Cori Stead. Photo by Vi Waln
The Silent Witness National Initiative began in 1990 in the St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN area. This initiative was organized to address the issue of domestic violence murders in that area. The initiative is now in all fifty states. The Silent Witnesses were on display at the Rosebud Community Center following the July 2 walk. If you are in a violent relationship and are afraid for your life or the lives of your children, please call an advocate at the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society at (605) 856-2317. Or you may call advocates at the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.
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