How many times was tracy thurman stabbed

Tracey Thurman sued the City of Torrington, saying the police department failed to protect her, and her legal victory in led to dramatic changes in domestic violence laws, and in how police and prosecutors handle domestic violence.

In Connecticut, the Thurman case led to the Family Violence Prevention and Response Act, which requires police to respond aggressively to complaints of domestic violence. They are now required to take the abuser into custody.

Nationally, police departments changed policies based on the case. Tracey Thurman came to represent the inadequacies of domestic violence laws and the absence of support networks for victims. People around Torrington, in the supermarket, at the post office, still recognize Motuzick. Mostly, she says, they thank her. She pulls her right leg behind her and slows to force every footfall to a heel-to-toe movement; her paralysis causes her foot to slap the ground slightly. Her right leg and arm ache.

Her back hurts as a result of her awkward gait. Chores like hanging laundry or bringing garbage cans from the curb risk a loss of a balance and a fall. It would be going backward. Motuzick, who is 5-foot-8 with broad shoulders and a sturdy build, has devised a diligent exercise routine to maintain the mobility she worked so hard to regain.

She lifts weights and walks on a treadmill at a local gym three days a week. Putting a treadmill into an incline forces her right foot into movement that no longer comes naturally. She trips a lot. Motuzick does not work outside the home, partially because of her physical limitations and also, she says, because she never graduated from high school. She dropped out of tenth grade to care for her mother, who died of cancer at age 44 when Motuzick was She sometimes thinks of one day returning to school to study to be a therapist.

Her therapist has played an essential role in helping her sort through what happened, Motuzick said. Her breathy voice is low and raspy, another result of her injuries. Time has allowed her to laugh at the memory of her sister, Cheryl, who died of cancer in , driving manically trying to follow the ambulance to Hartford.

Smiling, she sees how irrational she was during five months of rehabilitation at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, where she feared men on her ward — themselves paralyzed and unable to walk — would attack her. Today, she is poised and gracious, but casual. She wears no makeup. The well-kept home she shares with Michael is decorated in pinks and greens, and as she entertains visitors, her easy smile curls into the right side of her face. Her eyes dance faster than she is able to turn her scarred neck.

She laughs easily and whistles in exclamation. Reminders of what happened come in the most unexpected places. In , Motuzick had thyroid cancer and her thyroid was removed. During one of two surgeries, doctors found two stray pieces of her thyroid, one behind her collarbone and one in her lung. Thurman had sliced them off during the attack. A fear of Thurman haunts her. He never expressed remorse, she said. The last words he spoke to her were in court, when he said before a judge that he would leave her and their son alone.

He served nearly eight years in prison and five years probation. Now a resident of Easthampton, Mass. She found a job in Florida cleaning a motel where Thurman was staying with his construction crew. Strong, confident, 5-foot with thick, curly locks, he told her he loved her. They shared an immediate and strong physical attraction. He hit her for the first time a few months before she became pregnant with C. The violence and obsessive behavior grew worse.

He was apologetic. She married him when she was four months pregnant. She left him for the second and final time in October In the next eight months, Motuzick called police 19 times. Violence knows no gender, just as justice should not be gender biased. Having worked for many years with women who advocate for women, my observations are keenly aware that most of the resources for women were created by women, some former victims of abuse, and others who are in a position to make a difference.

There are also men who have stood in the gap for abused women. My suggestion is that men stop complaining about the lack of resources and get busy doing something about it for other men in the same situation. As Donna mentioned in her last response with a link to Document the Abuse, all abuse should be documented, no matter what the gender, and although Susan Murphy Milano worked primarily for the safety of women, it was because that was her experience.

The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit can be created by both men and women, no matter what race, language, sexual orientation, or gender. Do it to remain safe and to keep your children safe. But, remember, your documentation must be the real deal. Create the resources, change the legislation, work with the system, and be the change the world wishes to see.

Other abused men are depending on you! Although Tracy might of been scared for life she fought for her and her child, and I admire that. I was born in 84 when all this was probably all over the news. But for the next 8 years I lived in a domestic and child abusive home. It took my sister who was a year older to say something, but by then the damage was so bad.

If only my mother had an ounce of strength that Tracy had. Thank you for appreciating my blog and the hard won accomplishments for other victims of intimate partner violence in Connecticut.

I agree that Tracey has been a role model. I wish that the legislature and non profit directors would consider two excellent prevention programs we endorse. I hope you are safe and in a better place now. Stay tuned for our new campaign with document the abuse on line.

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August 13, August 17, ImaginePublicity. This monster got away with his brutality time after time after time… But… on June 10th, , Buck assaulted Tracy for the last time. District Court for Downstate Connecticut agreed, stating: City officials and police officers are under an affirmative duty to preserve law and order, and to protect the personal safety of persons in the community.

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Follow Following. Donna R. Gore Join other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments He asked her to come outside. When she refused, ''he got mad. He returned 30 minutes later but left when Tracey and her friends barred the door. On Nov. According to a formal complaint filed that day with police, Tracey said: ''He told me that if we could not bring up the baby together, no one would do it.

He told me if I. I want my husband arrested for threatening me and the baby. I will go to court. The court record indicates that no action was taken on her complaint. The police picked up Buck and returned the baby to Tracey, but that was all.

They noted this in the log. Buck had been there, seeking visitation rights, and an official wanted to hear her side. Later, when she tried to drive away, Buck blocked her car, and, in view of a nearby police officer, put his fist through the windshield.

She filed another complaint quoting Buck as telling her, ''I will get you, and when I do, I will really hurt you''. This time he was arrested on a breach of peace charge. He was convicted five days later, but his six-month sentence was suspended. According to the Nov. On Jan. She called the police again. They came, but Buck had vanished. According to her testimony, she told them about the discharge order, but ''they just left.

She called again on Jan. The police log noted, ''Wants it for the record only. He was violating his probation. Last month, while reminiscing at home, she was struck by her own naivete. On May 5, , she filed another complaint with police, stating that Buck had called ''about 10 times'' on May 4. Again she reported a threat: ''He. She mentioned the probation order that barred Buck from contacting or harassing her.

Then on May 6, she went to court and obtained a new restraining order against Buck. Above her signature, she wrote: ''I believe I am in immediate and present danger. The record shows that Buck Thurman was not arrested. On May 25, Tracey went back to headquarters to file another complaint. Earlier that day, she told police, Buck appeared in person to warn that he would kill her once their divorce, then pending, became final. Again, Buck was not arrested.

On June 5, Buck was back, yelling up at her window. Again she called police.