“Are we going to be able to get my daughter out of there?” The haunting question posed by a mother who had already buried one daughter due to domestic violence, and almost lost another, echoes what advocates say is still a deeply flawed emergency response system.
In 2012, Deanna Cook, a young Dallas woman, desperately dialed 911 as her estranged husband, Delvecchio Patrick, attacked her inside her home.
Her panicked pleas for help were recorded, but no officer arrived in time. By the time police entered her home—days later—she was dead, her body found in a bathtub. She had been choked and drowned. Her death, recorded in chilling real-time, became a symbol of systemic failure in responding to domestic violence.
Three years later, in an eerily similar situation, Cook’s younger sister Davia Perry also found herself in the grip of an abusive partner. And this time, her family knew exactly what was at stake.
“Of course we were afraid. We were scared,” said Karletha Gundy, sister to both women. “It hit very close to home.”
History Repeats—But This Time, Police Intervene
Perry had been dating her boyfriend, Kevin Harris, for a few months when, according to her family, he refused to let her leave their apartment in North Dallas. Perry reached out to her relatives for help.
Photos from the 2015 incident show Dallas police officers moving in swiftly, rescuing her from captivity.
Harris was arrested on multiple charges, including unlawful restraint, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and choking. His bond was set at $600,000. For Perry’s mother — who had already suffered the unimaginable loss of one daughter — the fear was paralyzing.
“She’s actually saying, ‘Hey, are we going to be able to get my daughter out of there?’” recalled Debra Bowles, founder of Women Called Moses, a nonprofit that advocates for victims of domestic violence.
From Tragedy to Transformation
Deanna Cook’s death sparked reforms in the way Dallas police respond to domestic violence calls. But for many, including advocates and survivors, the wounds remain raw — and the work is far from over.
“Abuse is all around us,” Bowles said. “My mother was in an abusive situation; my sister; myself; my brother… my auntie.”
Domestic violence, she explains, is often intergenerational and deeply embedded in communities. The silence surrounding it only makes it more dangerous.
“Breaking the silence… let’s talk about this thing,” she said. “Whether it’s verbal, physical, or mental… abuse is abuse.”
A Family’s Fight Continues
The Cook-Perry family knows all too well what happens when help arrives too late. But this time, law enforcement got there in time — and Perry survived.
Now, the family is using both their trauma and their voice to advocate for domestic violence awareness, prevention, and systemic accountability.
“We’re thankful we didn’t lose another daughter,” Gundy said. “But we know we still have a long fight ahead.”
For families like theirs, silence is no longer an option.
