博客

Twenty-one years after Tiffany Smith was brutally murdered by her own husband at the age of 30, her sister Shavonne Munnings is transforming decades of personal grief into a life-changing mission: building a dedicated safe refuge for battered women and children escaping abusive households. Now, the long-time community advocate is renewing her urgent call for public and private support to turn this vision — named Tiffany’s Haven, in honor of her late sibling — into a reality.

Smith’s life ended violently on May 24, 2005, when she was stabbed 26 times, leaving behind four young children. For more than 20 years, Munnings has refused to let her sister’s death fade into silence. Instead of withdrawing into grief, she has marked the anniversary of Smith’s killing every year with candlelight vigils, public educational conferences, and community outreach initiatives designed to shine a spotlight on the pervasive threat of domestic violence across The Bahamas.

This year’s 21st anniversary gathering was hosted at the First Holiness Church of God, bringing together domestic violence survivors, fellow advocates, religious leaders, and local community members for an evening centered on remembrance, awareness, and mutual encouragement. After the formal program, attendees shared hot meals and refreshments, while children in attendance enjoyed activities on a bouncing castle, creating a moment of joy amid a somber occasion.

Munnings, who has personally survived domestic abuse, explained that Tiffany’s Haven is envisioned as more than just a temporary emergency shelter — it will function as a holistic restoration center where women and their children can heal after experiencing violence. “Many women manage to leave abusive relationships, but they have nowhere safe to turn,” she noted. “That gap is why this project is so critical. It will be a space where women can bring their children, find safety, and begin the work of healing and rebuilding their lives.”

Already, Munnings has a detailed plan for the facility’s design and operations, but she requires broad community and donor support to move the project forward. “I’m praying that God brings what I call destiny helpers — people who share this vision of making a tangible difference in the lives of survivors,” she said. “Working together, we can help restore safety and hope to women and children who have lost everything to abuse.”

Recalling the day of her sister’s murder, Munnings shared the heartbreaking details of that afternoon. She received a message shortly before 3 p.m. directing her to go to the local hospital. “I had no idea what had happened when I got the message,” she said. “I heard the ambulance siren first, and I told myself they don’t use sirens for people who are already gone — I held out hope. But when I arrived, everything was silent. That’s when I learned it was my sister, and she was already gone.”

For Munnings, the annual gathering is far more than a memorial: it is a critical warning to women across the country that relationship abuse can turn fatal. “Twenty-one years ago, I lost my sister to domestic violence,” she said. “Instead of letting that tragedy make me bitter, I chose to let it make me more focused on action. I want to enlighten and encourage other women to face the truth: domestic violence is not a private problem, it is a deadly crisis that can claim your life.”

Munnings’ advocacy comes as domestic violence remains one of the most pressing unaddressed social issues in The Bahamas. Recent police statistics show a reported 29 percent drop in documented domestic violence cases, falling from 2,630 incidents in 2024 to 1,859 in 2025. But advocates across the country warn the decline is likely misleading, as the vast majority of abuse incidents are never reported, with many victims trapped in silence out of fear or lack of access to support. That underreporting means the true scale of the crisis remains far larger than official numbers reflect.

For Munnings, supporting children who witness domestic violence is a core part of the mission of Tiffany’s Haven. “When children grow up around violence, it shapes their whole lives,” she explained. “If we can help them heal while their minds are still growing and able to transform, we can break the cycle of violence. Better children grow up to be better adults. That means fewer people trapped in cycles of harm, fewer lives lost, and a stronger future for all our families.”

Fellow domestic violence advocate Hilvana Cash has praised Munnings’ unwavering commitment to keeping the crisis at the forefront of public conversation. “For years, she has been consistent, showing up every single year to push for awareness and change,” Cash said. “Domestic violence does not only harm the person being abused. It ripples out to hurt children, extended families, coworkers, and entire communities. That’s why work like Shavonne’s is so vital.”

Reverend Janet Gray of the First Holiness Church of God also offered her full backing for Munnings’ work and the Tiffany’s Haven project. “Every year she comes here to organize this gathering, she has my complete support,” Gray said. “Domestic violence is an evil thing, and far too many women are forced to suffer in silence. They need to know they can come forward, and they can get the help they need to escape.”

For Munnings, her sister’s memory continues to be the driving force behind every step of her advocacy. “If I can save just one woman, one year at a time, then Tiffany’s death was not for nothing,” she said.

Three days after 23-year-old Aljaron Stubbs was gunned down just steps from his Elizabeth home, his grieving girlfriend of five years is opening up about the senseless violence that stole her partner and left her grappling with lifelong trauma. The woman, who has requested anonymity to protect her safety, spoke exclusively to The Tribune, detailing the chaotic moments when bullets began flying and the lasting nightmare that has followed the attack.

The tragedy unfolded shortly before 3 p.m. on a Thursday last week, near the intersection of Antigua Street and Barbados Avenue. On that day, Stubbs—who had been released on bail pending trial for multiple pending charges including conspiracy to murder and murder—had just wrapped up a court appearance. His girlfriend, who was on a lunch break from work, was alongside him as the pair headed toward their home.

When they noticed an unfamiliar vehicle parked near their residence—one that had also been spotted loitering in the area earlier that morning—they made the split-second decision to seek shelter in a nearby neighbor’s yard instead. But their attempt to avoid danger came too late: gunmen traveling in a pale-colored Japanese-made car pulled into the neighborhood and immediately opened fire on the couple.

Stubbs’ girlfriend told reporters she immediately dropped to the ground and began praying as bullets rang out around her. It was only when she stood up moments later to check on Stubbs that she realized the attack had already been fatal. “By the time as I get up and ask him ‘baby, you okay?’ That was it. He was then gone,” she recalled. In the chaos of the shooting, she did not even notice immediately that a bullet had grazed her own back.

In the three days since the murder, the trauma has already upended the young woman’s life. She told reporters she struggles to sleep through the night, constantly woken by vivid nightmares of the attack, and often finds herself reliving the shooting during waking hours. She has stepped away from her job temporarily to focus on processing her grief, describing a constant state of disorientation and anguish in the days after the attack. “In the morning, when it first happened, I felt like I was going crazy,” she said.

The pain of Stubbs’ violent death has hit especially hard, she explained. “I know everybody gotta go one day, but it’s how you go. That’s the part that hurt me. If he had gone to bed and didn’t wake up, I would have felt better,” she said. Stubbs’ relatives have also been unable to process the sudden loss; multiple family members became inconsolable at the crime scene and had to be restrained by responding police officers.

While court records confirm Stubbs faced serious pending charges—including the 2023 murder of Jorge Cuevas and conspiracy to murder Detective Sergeant Raphael Miller, plus additional charges of attempted murder and firearms possession—he had repeatedly denied all allegations. His girlfriend acknowledged that Stubbs was not a perfect man, but insisted he had been working to turn his life around in the months before his death. She also pushed back against constant police scrutiny he faced after his release on bail, noting “Every other week, coming to lock him up and bothering him. Ain’t nobody’s perfect. Everybody’s innocent until proven guilty.”

Before the shooting, the unemployed 23-year-old had been making concrete plans for a new, law-abiding future: he had told his girlfriend he planned to open a car wash business the following month, and purchase three motorbikes to rent out for extra income. The couple was also getting ready to celebrate their sixth relationship anniversary in October, with plans for a professional photo shoot and a weekend of activities to mark the milestone.

The surviving victim says she has left justice for Stubbs’ killers up to a higher power, noting that “every dog got their day.” She said she will deeply miss her partner, whom she described as a quiet, easygoing person who was her safe place. The trauma of the attack has left her convinced she will never be able to form another close romantic bond: “I don’t think I could go in another relationship for as long as I live. I can’t take that,” she said. “I don’t want to get attached to anybody anymore because that was my safe place.”

Looking at old photos of the couple together still reduces her to tears, so she has tried to avoid keeping those mementos out where she will see them. “Every now and then, like looking at our pictures and stuff like that, I try not to look at it, because it just made me break down and cry but, it’s really ain’t easy,” she said.

As of this report, law enforcement has not made any arrests in connection with Stubbs’ murder. According to Tribune records, the killing brings the total number of murders recorded in the country so far this year to 27.