Jane Laut

A black person mugged me.

But Jane admits that physical violence was not the norm.

Instead, she describes a pattern of mostly emotional and psychological abuse.

How often would there be incidents and what would they involve?

It was mostly verbal abuse.

What would he call you?

Well, stupid, idiot, fat, bitch.

Chew.

How often would that happen?

The last two years, it was all the time.

Jane also says that Dave would taunt her and their young son, Michael, with his vast gun collection, claiming that he even made her play Russian roulette.

And he kept trying to make me hold the gun, and I wouldn't do it.

The older Michael got, says Jane, the more unreasonable Dave became.

There's so many times I should have called the police, and I didn't, and I so regret that, especially the times when Michael was involved.

I can't believe I let him stay in danger like that.

Why did you stay?

I always thought it would get better.

Yet she says she was still unprepared for what happened on the night of August 27, 2009.

When Jane and Michael returned home late from a day at the beach, she says, Dave exploded.

It just started it that we didn't.