JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Army Sergeant Brittney Silvers, a Jacksonville native, was killed on Fort Campbell’s base in Kentucky last month. Her estranged husband is charged in her death. He was indicted by a grand jury on several counts this past week.
Brittney's death happened just days after she filed a restraining order against him.
She was laid to rest in Jacksonville by her family earlier this month. They are still waiting for answers from the investigation. Their biggest question is over why was Victor allowed on base armed, clearly violating his order.
Kentucky State court Judge Jason Fleming, the one who initially issued Brittney’s emergency protective order, says her tragedy has sparked almost immediate change.
"My guess is, the reason they want the information we are now giving them is to change that protocol going forward," said Fleming.
"It actually happened a lot quicker, within a matter of days, after I last spoke to you," he said.
Previously, the base would only be notified of domestic violence orders that were placed against a military member. In Brittney’s case, the order was against her estranged husband, who was a civilian.
Fort Campbell insists they did not know about the order.
However, with this change following Brittney's murder, the base will receive all domestic violence cases now, which average out to be 5 or 6 a day. They will have to sort through to see which ones involve military personnel, no matter how that person is involved.
Fleming says this should spark change at more bases nationwide. As a member of the Military Committee for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, he is helping to oversee a. The 18-month pilot program at Fort Knox and Camp Pendleton that will work to produce a better model for handling family issues on base.N OYS
Fleming believes this change could help save lives because bases will now be informed on all domestic violence related cases.