Allisha Watts' boyfriend had domestic violence order filed against him in Durham County in May
WRAL News has uncovered documents that show James Dunmore, the boyfriend of the still-missing Allisha Watts, had a domestic violence order filed against him in Durham County just two months before Watts went missing.
A woman who was in a relationship with Dunmore filed a domestic violence order of protection in Durham County in May, alleging abuses that happened in March 2023 and before.
In the report, the victim wrote, "There have been multiple incidents where police were called to the home so that I was able to remove myself out of fear." The document goes on to say Dunmore showed the woman photographs to indicate he knew where she was and inferred he had someone following her. The victim described instances of "punching, kicking, and choking." She added that Dunmore stated multiple times that he was going to murder her.
The order rules that Dunmore is not allowed near the woman's home or place of work through May 2024.
Other details reveal that Dunmore was violent at times and said things that made the woman fear for her life. One passage included a circumstance where the plaintiff took the victim against her will from Charlotte to South Carolina.
"Defendant has previously been physically violent toward me on multiple occasions, including grabbing my neck and holding me down, hitting me in the face, holding me down until I couldn’t breathe," she wrote, and that he had been "driving erratically like he would kill us both among others."
Dunmore has previous convictions dating back in 2003 for assault, battery and kidnapping in Virginia. Court records showed Dunmore spent five years in prison after an abduction conviction and was also sentenced to 15 years of probation.
On July 20, a shell casing was found along the street in front of Dunmore's home.
The 39-year-old Watts hasn't been seen since July 16 when she was scheduled to attend a comedy show in Charlotte with Dunmore. Dunmore is considered a person of interest in the case and authorities suspect a murder has taken place although he has not officially been charged with a crime.
Watts, who lives in Foxfire, has been missing for more than two weeks. Two days after her disappearance on July 18, her car and an unresponsive man, later identified as Dunmore, were found in a DMV parking lot in Anson County, but Watts was still nowhere to be found.
Other documents showed Dunmore tried to commit suicide at some point. Despite repeated questions, law enforcment authorities involved in the search for Watts have not disclosed Dunmore's current condition or his whereabouts. Police have searched Dunmore's home in Charlotte.
Friends and family members held a vigil for Watts on Tuesday night. A group is planning to charter another bus to a vigil in Charlotte, and pass out flyers in the last area where she was seen. Vigil organizers set up a donation table to help fund the chartered buses.
