Catherine Heckendorn

He seemed very sympathetic and reassuring. He said he graduated Harvard.

I didn't know how I could continue honestly to survive.

This nonprofit was called the Community Progress Institute. What was that about? Just to raise money to kind of bring back the life, the pizzazz back to Dayton.

And I thought, I said, perfect, a church guy. Yeah. This is pretty safe. You can't get any safer than this.

He seemed very sympathetic and reassuring that I should feel safe and comfortable and he'll take care of me. Did that make you feel good? It did. I think that's exactly what I was looking for.

There was a mystery that I couldn't put my finger on, which kind of drew me to him.

We're sitting on the couch watching some TV at his place and he just turns to me and says, we should get married. I mean, were you shocked? I was very shocked. I knew everything in me was saying no, no, no, no, too soon. Something's off about this. He doesn't even really know me. I don't know him.

I started to get annoyed and frustrated. But at the same time, I always wanted to be a wife. I always wanted to be a mom. And I think that desire for those things outweighed the fishiness. Yeah, and common sense.

I don't remember what the argument was about, but it was the very next day where he lays his hands on me for the first time. Hits you? Yeah. Yes.

Do you say something to him? Do you call the police? Um... try to run, try to call the police. He would always manage to get to my phone and take it, so I could never call for help.

So they showed up and arrested him for domestic violence.

And he had warned me that he's dangerous, that he does daily rounds on the house, and that he's afraid next time he drives by, I will be either chained up in the basement or dead.

That was rough because each time then I got this false hope that The stranger's going to go away and Nick's going to come back.

You know, take care of the house, make sure he had food when he got home.

He always preferred, like, a bow tie. I think he was looking for something very, like, sophisticated and strong enough to make him stand out.

And he said that if I don't give him money, his business is going to collapse and we won't be able to eat and that'll be my fault. So I gave him about $10,000 and And as time went on, he said, we need more.

I see him spending it on lavish, expensive meals, clothes, like first-class flights, five-star hotels. How much did you end up giving him? Close to $55,000.

He always made it my fault. And after a while, I think I started believing that.

Even though we were married, he would rape me. Did you feel just like a prisoner? Yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was possible to be so alone. I didn't know how I could continue, honestly, to survive.

What are you doing? I'm getting out of this negative atmosphere. No! Stop it!

Lord, let me know in a clear, distinct manner that I may act upon it and immediately get out. Go. Go. So I grabbed my purse.

So I get in my car and start driving. And through his GPS tracking, he discovers that and proceeds to pursue me. He catches up to you and is chasing you? Yeah. Are you terrified? Yeah. I had run through a red light and kind of head-on kind of T-bone another car. He's there? He sees this happen? Yeah, so as soon as he sees that I get in a car crash, he leaves.

He doesn't want to be around when the police show up.

Not good. You know, making threats, being irate with either me or my parents.

One of the officers said, I'm pretty sure that was him wearing a disguise, you know, the hat, head down low. He just kind of disappeared. They couldn't find him.

I opened the door and there's a gun sitting on the sofa. A gun? Yeah. As if Nick put it there to say, I may not physically be here, but I will still make you miserable.

Less than a month after I had left him, the police,

the treasury or the fbi or i think it was both came knocking on my door wanting any information i could give them on nick did they explain why they were there for fraud and they did not go in details just for fraud catherine found out later the feds were accusing nicholas of stealing from his ohio foster parents that couple who had taken him in when he was about to age out of the system

We attended the same church here in Dayton, Ohio. They were lovely people, great people. And they seemed, you know, so caring towards Nick.

I do believe he was starting to swindle them and take from them while we were still together.

He just kind of disappeared.

Right.

I've worked very hard to try and fight to feel safe and secure again. And remember, not everybody is him. Not everybody is a monster.

I want the courts to know that if he ever gets out, he will do it again. He will find more victims. That is his way of life, and that's all he knows. And it's not okay for a person like that to be free.