Oct 12, 2009 6:28 pm US/Eastern
Victim Shares Horrific Story Of Domestic Violence
Nicole Maristany
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Domestic Violence – it's a topic that families don't often talk about, but speaking out can stop the cycle of abuse. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and now, people are telling their stories in hopes of preventing others suffering as they did.
Monise Charleus shared her harrowing story of survival with
CBS4 News, talking about the day when her now ex-husband tried to kill her in front of their 11-year-old daughter.
"He didn't show no violence in the beginning. But later on, when I start going to school, he didn't like that," Monise said.
Monise moved out of the home she shared with her husband and thought she was safe. "He didn't know where I worked; he didn't know where I lived. He just knew where I took the bus," she explained.
But while waiting in her car at her daughter's school bus stop one morning, her worst fears came true.
"All of the sudden, he accelerate the gas so hard and then hit the driver side. He hit it so hard and my car flipped," Monise described.
She attempted to run from her abuser, while scared neighbors watched in horror while he chased her with a knife – but no one called the police. Her ex-husband stabbed her 19 times, every one of them in front of her daughter.
"My daughter was trying to fight with him," Monise remembered, "saying, 'I want you to leave my mommy alone.' And then he punched my daughter in the face."
Finally, a witness called for help and paramedics arrived in the nick of time. After nearly a year of counseling and services through Women in Distress, her ex-husband remains behind bars. And because of the help they received at Women In Distress, Monise and her daughter finally feel safe.
If you or someone you love is in an abusive relationship and needs help, call the
Women In Distress crisis hot line at
954-761-1133.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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