Sandra Thoman and Charles Dutton had a very personal reason to attend Tuesday evening’s march against domestic violence. Their daughter, Holly Laurel Hearn, died Aug. 26, the victim of a shooting by another family member.

Her alleged killer awaits trial in the Muscogee County Jail. Hearn was 28. She was studying to be a dental hygienist.

Thoman clutched a framed photo of her daughter, as about 50 others stood nearby. In her other hand, an umbrella protected the photo from drops of rain.

“We have to have justice for her,” she said.

Most of the other participants gathered in the parking area of Country’s on Broad and held purple placards with the names of victims on them, as well as the counties where the person died.

Georgia recently was named the sixth-highest state for deaths by domestic violence. This month is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This second annual march was sponsored by Hope Harbour, the local victims’ shelter operated by the Columbus Alliance for Battered Women.

“This adds a little more awareness, and some more visibility, which we need,” Alliance Director Dianne Hett said of the downtown walk.

Before participants made their way north, Hope Harbour board member Judy Fleischer read a poem by a victim’s advocate. The sentiment was that love between two people can give way to fear, and victims can become paralyzed in that fear.

The march headed .6 miles north to the RiverPark campus of Columbus State University, where a candlelight vigil honored victims.

Most of the marchers were female. One of the male participants was Nicholas Simmons, a recent CSU graduate.

“I’m here to support victims of domestic violence. I have a friend who works with people who are victims,” Simmons said.