Big Tigger Arrested on 3 Charges After Wife Suffers Deep Facial Cut

Q: How will Georgia’s recent $13M funding cut for domestic violence aid impact victims seeking refuge?

Georgia’s $13 million cut is likely to make it harder and slower for victims to find safe shelter, legal help and crisis support, increasing the risk that some will remain with abusers. The vetoed funding — about $9.4 million for domestic violence shelters and $3.3 million for sexual assault centers — was meant to support more than 50 programs statewide starting July 1. Providers say many shelters are already full or over capacity, so the loss will force service reductions just as demand is rising. Georgia agencies reported 110,001 crisis calls in 2024, and domestic violence reports rose 12% from 2023 to 2024. For victims seeking refuge, the practical effect is fewer available beds, longer waits, less counseling, reduced legal advocacy and weaker help with medical care and long-term housing. Some programs may have to freeze hiring, cut staff or risk layoffs, making it harder to maintain 24/7 response and state service standards. The impact is expected to be especially severe in rural Georgia, where a single shelter may serve many counties. If one program scales back, victims may have no nearby refuge at all and may have to travel farther, delay leaving or stay in dangerous homes. Cases like the one involving Big Tigger underscore why this matters: victims often hesitate to report abuse because of fear, retaliation or doubts they will be believed. When shelter space and support services shrink, those barriers become even harder to overcome.

3 articles · Updated · FOX 5 Atlanta · Jun 23

Fulton County booked radio host Big Tigger, born Darian Morgan, on Saturday on battery, aggravated battery and third-degree child cruelty charges tied to a May 9 domestic dispute.
Court records say the argument over text messages escalated when Morgan allegedly shoved his wife into an office door, leaving a deep cut above her left eye that required numerous stitches and remained visibly disfiguring a month later.
An interior Ring camera captured the altercation, and medical staff alerted police after Morgan took his wife to urgent care claiming she had tripped and fallen; she later told investigators she initially stayed silent out of fear of retaliation.
The child-cruelty charge stems from the couple's 13-year-old son allegedly hearing the fight from upstairs, and Morgan was released later Saturday after posting about $10,000 in surety bonds.