Tennis tournament planned in memory of domestic violence shooting victim

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A tennis tournament to be held this spring in Wilmington, to raise awareness of domestic violence in memory of a local mother of three, who was killed last month in a deadly shooting at the Holly Tree Racquet Club, and her daughter is leading the charge.

“It was the worst, –the worst night of my life. You know, I watched my mom die, and she was my best friend, and that’s something I don’t ever wish on anybody, and I didn’t really even have a chance to tell her goodbye, it happened so quickly,” said Rachel Knowles, MaryAnn Breault’s eldest daughter.

Rachel Knowles was with her mother, 54-year-old MaryAnn Breault, watching her 12-year-old brother practice tennis at the Holly Tree Racquet Club on the night she was killed.

Knowles’ saw her stepfather, 64-year-old Dimitre Dimitrov shoot her mother,  before shooting himself.

“It hurts me so deeply to not only know that he not only took all of the years that she should have had ahead of her from her, she was happy, she was healthy, she was breaking free, but he also took all of the years before that from her,” said Rachel Knowles.

Knowles said she, her two younger siblings, and close friends and family are still hurting deeply over Breault’s death.

“We’re trying to make the most out of the tragic situation,” said Knowles. “You know, what else is there to do? You can’t give up, you have to just kind of keep moving forward and one of the other ways that we are moving forward is –I have been adamant about raising awareness and support for the fight against domestic violence.”

Knowles organized the Raise a Racquet Against Domestic Violence Tennis in memory of her mother. the money raised from the tournament will benefit the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services in Wilmington.

Knowles says paperwork she recently found has made her continue to push for additional support for domestic violence victims, and evaluations of those who might be abusers.

“I found some clinical evaluation of my step father that was done two months prior, —just two months prior to him killing my mother and himself, that evaluated him at low risk for homicide and suicidal behaviors and ideations,” said Knowles.

Knowles hopes the tennis tournament will encourage more people to have conversations about domestic violence and learn to identify the signs.

“This is a hard thing to talk about, it’s uncomfortable,” said Knowles. “You know, it makes you think about people you love, people you trust, you know your neighbor on the street might be charming and charismatic to you, but they might be abusive to their family.”

The Raise a Racquet Against Domestic Violence Tennis Tournament will be held March 4-6,  and registration for the  tournament will close on MaryAnn Breault’s birthday, February 27.