April 16, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Law Enforcement Officers, Victim Advocates Honored During National Crime Victims' Rights Week
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today joined Governor Charlie Crist in honoring three law enforcement officers and three victim advocates for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of Florida victims of crime. The award recipients were honored during a ceremony hosted by Attorney General McCollum to recognize National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The three original commissioners from the Crime Compensation Commission were also recognized and commended for their commitment to crime victims and their families.
“Seeking justice for victims serves our nation’s highest ideals, and as we recognize those who have made this a priority, we should commit ourselves to serving them better at every possible opportunity,” said Attorney General McCollum. “I am honored to recognize these exceptional men and women.”
“Attorney General McCollum has taken great strides in building on the CyberCrime Unit in safeguarding Floridians from those trying to exploit them, ranging from online child predators to those seeking to scam the elderly,” said Governor Crist. “This week provides an opportunity to speak as one for every victim and to offer encouragement and strength to survivors and families. We must remain focused on victims' rights not just this week, but always.”
The Attorney General and the Governor honored three law enforcement officers from throughout the state, noting their dedication to crime victims and their families through their roles in law enforcement. Detective Lori Colombino of the West Palm Beach Police Department was honored for her work with a mother and son who were victimized by a gang rape. Sergeant Katherine Connor-Dubina of the St. Petersburg Police Department was recognized for her work with the Domestic/Personal Violence Unit where she provided assistance above and beyond the call of duty to assist the police department’s victim advocate. Detective Michael Toole, of the Casselberry Police Department, was commended for his determination in solving a cold case from the 1990’s, reopening the case at the request of the victim’s son.
In addition to recognizing the law enforcement officers, the Attorney General and the Governor also presented awards of commendation to three victim advocates for their efforts to care for and assist crime victims and their families. Victim Advocate Kimberly Adkins, of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, was recognized for her efforts to assist three families of three victims of a December 2007 shooting in Lake Wales. Kimberly Powell, Victim Advocate with the Tallahassee Police Department, was honored for her work with the Major Case Assessment Team in addition to her role as a first responder victim advocate. Victim Advocate Marianne Snow, also a survivor of crime, was recognized for her work as a victim advocate for the 7th Judicial Circuit. The three women were praised for their exemplary services as they work to assist, inform, and offer support to crime victims and their families.
Today’s ceremony also included an address by John Gillis, Director of the United States Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. Following the 1979 murder of his daughter, Mr. Gillis helped found Justice for Homicide Victims and the Coalition of Victims Equal Rights, organizations that work on behalf of the rights of victims and their families. He is also the founder of Victims and Friends United and an active member of Memory of Victims Everywhere and Parents of Murdered Children, support groups for families of homicide victims. In his current capacity, Director Gillis has oversight for priority initiatives including International Terrorism and Victim Assistance, Human Trafficking, and the Crime Victims' Fund.
Nominations for the tributes paid today were solicited throughout the state from criminal justice agencies, as well as from public and private organizations. Additional information about each award recipient is below:
West Palm Beach Police Detective Lori Colombino was the assisting investigator on a 2007 case that came to be known as “the Dunbar Village Gang Rape,” where a mother and her son were attacked by several armed men. The physical and emotional damage inflicted upon this mother and her son was extremely heinous and horrific, but as a result of Detective Colombino’s weekly and sometimes daily contact with the victims, they were able to regain some normalcy in their lives. Detective Colombino assisted in the victims’ relocation to another city, and because of her efforts an anonymous donor offered to pay rent for one year for the family because the mother was unemployed. Detective Colombino also worked with volunteers to have presents wrapped and donated so the family could celebrate Christmas. All of the events which led to Detective Colombino’s nomination were, for the most part, completed on her own time.
Sergeant Katherine “Katy” Connor-Dubina of the St. Petersburg Police Department was commended for her extraordinary efforts to lessen the impact of victimization on innocent crime victims. While working with the Domestic/Personal Violence Unit, she was contacted after hours by a victim advocate who needed guidance with determining appropriate jurisdiction in one of her cases. A victim had been abducted in St. Petersburg, battered in a different jurisdiction, and sexually assaulted in a third. Because there was confusion related to who had jurisdiction over the case, Sgt. Connor-Dubina facilitated the sexual assault exam and had an officer waiting to take a report, even though the sexual assault did not occur in St. Petersburg.
In early September 1990, an 85-year old woman became the victim of an overnight burglary and sexual assault. The savage beating the victim received was so severe that she never fully recovered before her death in 1994 and the case was never solved. In 2006, one of the victim’s sons asked that the case be re-examined and it was assigned to Detective Michael Toole of the Casselberry Police Department. During his reexamination of the evidence, Detective Toole discovered previously unidentified evidence and sent it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s crime lab for testing. In May 2007, Detective Toole learned the evidence contained DNA which was matched to an inmate currently serving a sentence in state prison. Detective Toole put together case which resulted in charges filed against the inmate for two first-degree felonies. The inmate remains in custody today awaiting trial, and if convicted of these newest charges he will remain in prison for the rest of his life.
In December 2007, a suspect entered an insurance business in Lake Wales and kidnapped two female employees at gunpoint. The suspect bound the woman, doused them with an accelerant and set them on fire. The victims ran from the suspect, but he gave chase and fired a revolver at the women, hitting a third victim who had come to the women’s aide. Victim Advocate Kim Adkins, from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, was requested to assist the families and immediately responded. She worked with the families of the victims to ensure that they received the necessary tools to emerge from these horrific crimes and face the day-to-day challenges that would follow. She continues to monitor the progress of the victims and their families and keeps them informed of the criminal justice process.
In 2006, the Tallahassee Police Department created the Major Case Assessment Team (MCAT) to act as the agency’s cold case homicide unit. The MCAT Unit was tasked with investigating both unsolved homicides and unsolved missing person cases. Victim Advocate Kimberly Powell was asked to be involved with this unit in addition to her role as a first responder victim advocate. Her analytical and organizational skills have become an integral part of the unit, where her efforts have included reaching out to victims’ families as a part of establishing investigative priorities on these cold cases. She has taken on the daunting task of re-establishing contact with people who had not been contacted about their loved ones’ murders for years, and in some cases, decades. She is a credit to the small niche of cold case victim advocates in the advocacy community.
Marianne Snow’s first experience in understanding the role of the victim advocate came from the perspective of being a crime victim. On July 3, 1980, she was abducted, raped, shot in the back, and left for dead in a ditch. Three weeks later, she met a victim advocate with the State Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit. The victim advocate helped her through the aftermath of the event, which included post traumatic stress, hospitalizations, and a host of other traumas that crime victims often experience after a violent attack. Ms. Snow turned her experience as a victim into an opportunity to assist, guide and educate other crime victims. In 1982, she assisted in opening of the first rape crisis center in the 7th Judicial Circuit. In 1992, she served as president of the “Stop Turning Out Prisoners” program in Volusia County. Two years later, she became as a volunteer victim advocate for the Port Orange Police Department, and in 1995 she became a full time victim advocate with the State Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit. In 2005, Ms. Snow started a special project called “Wipe Away the Tears – The Hankie Project,” in which victims and their families are invited to use a handkerchief to write a sentiment about the victim using names, initials, dates or whatever they chose to honor their loved one. Ms. Snow maintains the display of handkerchiefs in the Victim Advocate Office in Daytona Beach.