Domino Harvey (1969-2005) was a British bounty hunter in America. She came from a privileged background with parents in the entertainment business. Her father, Laurence Harvey, was an actor and mother Paulene Stone was a fashion model. Tragedy struck early when Laurence died when Domino was only 4 years old. She was brought up by her mother in upmarket London.
Domino was a rebellious child who fought with other children, and got expelled from several of the boarding schools she attended. As a young adult she had a varied career: she studied sound engineering and worked as a DJ in clubs around London, she designed t-shirts which she also sold, and she spent some time in Israel. At the age of 19 she moved to South Carolina, near where her mother relocated when she married Peter Morton, an American businessman.
Domino spent more time working as a DJ, this time in LA, and then went on to work as a volunteer firefighter for a year. During this time she learnt to use firearms. Next she started a course in ‘Bail recovery’ and started working as a bounty hunter with her teacher, Ed Martinez. Martinez later said she was one of the most skilled bounty hunters he had ever met.
Domino was one of the very few women working as a bounty hunter at the time, earning around $30,000-$40,000 a year. She became fascinated by weapons, collecting swords, knives and AK-47s. She also became addicted to drugs–weed, cocaine and heroin–which she reportedly took from the criminals she tracked down. She entered rehab 4 times, always funded by her mother. After she left rehab she couldn’t find work as a bounty hunter and began her dug related descent. In 2003 she was arrested for possession of crystal meth. She plead guilty and attended a treatment programme. In 2005 she was arrested for trafficking methamphetamine; though she maintained her innocence, she had to post $1 million in bail to leave detention. She left under the condition of an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. She hired a guardian to keep her sober, but on the 27 June 2005 she was found unconscious in the bath from an accidental overdose and she died that day.
-Danielle Triggs
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.