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YWCA Shooting Victim's Mom Backs NH Domestic Violence Bill

MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS) --- Becky Ranes, the mother of a 9-year-old boy who was shot and killed by his own father, spoke publicly for the first time since the August crime.

"He was my pride and joy," Ranes told a New Hampshire Senate committee. "Words cannot express how much I miss him. Today I speak for Joshua."

Her son, Joshua Savyon, was shot and killed by his father Muni Savyon during a supervised visit at the YWCA in Manchester last summer.

"I am here today because I am a survivor of domestic violence, but the real reason I am here is that my son Joshua is not," said Ranes.

Ranes testified in Concord in support of a bill that would establish domestic violence as a crime.

Right now defendants in domestic violence type cases in New Hampshire are charged with various crimes like assault.

Supporters of the bill say that needs to change.

"There's two reasons why that's important," said Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. "First it will help law enforcement and courts respond more effectively to these cases but also it will help victims recognize that what has happened to them is a crime and that help is available."

Nobody knows if a law like this would have saved Joshua's life.

"My hope is that if what happened to my family makes people take a closer look at how we handle these situations then something good will come out of this," said Ranes. "And Joshua will live on in spirit by helping others who are suffering this silent crime."

Supporters of the bill hope it will be called Joshua's Law and that it will be passed by New Hampshire lawmakers this year.

 

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