Victim’s Friends Recount Years of Domestic Violence

They had seen her bruises, heard about her fears. But because Vonia Medford had weathered her stormy marriage all those years, they never imagined that her husband would one day be accused of her murder, friends and neighbors of the 71-year-old woman said Sunday.

Hollis Glenn Medford, 79, turned himself in to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies early Saturday after he allegedly killed his wife with an ax. He was booked on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $1-million bail at Twin Towers jail downtown.

“We’re all in shock,” said Pat Connelly, a dog and cat groomer who has known the Littlerock couple for eight years.

The Medfords have three grown children who live out of town. The couple had a history of domestic violence, according to friends and neighbors.

Vonia was abused “emotionally, physically and verbally” by her husband, said Norma Winkler, who lives two doors down the street from the couple’s house in the 8800 block of East Avenue T-2.

“We used to see bruises on her arms, on her cheekbones, on her ribs; she could hardly breathe,” Winkler said.

Her husband had no prior domestic-violence arrests, said Deputy Rodney Roberts of the Sheriff’s Department’s Palmdale station. He said deputies could not remember being called out to the Medfords’ house in the rural, residential community just southeast of Palmdale before Saturday.

Those who knew Vonia described the retired nurse as an introverted, nice woman who loved to read and took good care of her husband, who had worked in real estate and the aerospace industry.

“She was a wonderful lady, just the sweetest person,” said Connelly, who regularly groomed the Medfords’ three dogs.

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Vonia “never said a bad thing about anybody, except Glenn every once in a while,” said Winkler, who has known the couple since they moved into the neighborhood 15 years ago.

“She’s wanted to leave many times but didn’t have the money,” Winkler said. “He controlled everything,” including all the family finances, she added.

Winkler said she gave Vonia a key to her house so she could escape from her husband if necessary.

On occasion, Winkler would come home and find Vonia there. She appeared to have just been abused, Winkler recalled, but would say that she came over for “a breath of fresh air.”