JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s now been three years since an Army sergeant was killed on base and her estranged husband was arrested.
On Thursday, the father of Sgt. Brittney Mitchell opened up to News4Jax about his loss and how he is encouraging domestic violence survivors to speak up.
The father said three years after her death, he continues to think about his daughter every day.
She is now memorialized at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium with other fallen soldiers. Her father said what is on his mind now is justice.
Rod Hughes laid flowers at his daughter’s grave three years after her death on Thursday.
Mitchell was 27 when she was killed.
She was a graduate of Terry Parker High School and worked as an automated logistical specialist on an Army installation in Kentucky.
“A good sister, daughter, especially in the military where she was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky,” he said. “Everybody loved her.”
Mitchell’s estranged husband, Victor Silvers, is accused of murdering her. They were going through a divorce at the time of her death.
According to an arrest affidavit, a domestic violence order prohibited Silvers from having a gun and ordered him to stay 300 feet away from his wife.
Hughes said he had no idea of any domestic issues going on in their marriage.
“She didn’t tell no one. She didn’t let no one know. That was the hurting part. I think if she would have told, said something, I think we wouldn’t be here now,” he said.
There’s nothing he can do for his daughter now, but he wants to encourage other survivors of domestic violence to speak up before it’s too late.
The court has set a trial date for Silvers in June of next year.
The state has said it will seek the death penalty.