My Story – Michaela

My victim impact statement I read in court at my abuser’s sentencing. My name is Michaela Palmer and I am victim of *******. On April 26th, 2019 he violently attacked me in our home to the point he thought he had killed me. I have worked hard to overcome the events of that night, and writing this statement has forced me to revisit the trauma of this night, but I believe it is important for the Court to know the details, and talk about the time since so they can understand what exactly this man is capable of. That night, after coming back home from a get together with my coworkers from the hospital, he began yelling at me. He threw me against our front door. He then grabbed me by my hair and pulled me to the bathroom. He threw my body into the bathroom mirror and it shattered and he didn’t stop. He bit me on the scalp and tore my flesh out. I begged for him to stop. I told him he was hurting me. I was crying and screaming but he didn’t stop. There was so much blood that I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face. I continued to bleed and thought I was going to die. I tried to call my friend and when he saw me he started screaming even more and took my phone away. He then began his attack again and while I was laying on the floor covered in blood began kicking me in the stomach and he kicked me over and over and over again. At that point, I felt myself fading to black and I remember feeling so helpless, as though all I could do was lay there and pray for it to all end. I was ready to die and I was sure I was going to. The most horrific part to me was realizing this was not a one time event. ****** repeatedly abused me over the course of our 2 years together and I have no doubts he will do the same to the next women he is with. I have seen him apologize many times over, and I was moved by him many times over, but I hope the Court does not buy into to his apologies the same way I did for those two years. This has affected my family and the people that love me. Even after this April event, they were, and I was afraid he was going to kill me. My time with ********* has cost me physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. I missed time from work. I incurred over $2000 in hospital bills to treat the damage he had done to me physically. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD and went through extensive treatment to progress towards this. I have been harassed for years afterwards by him directly and indirectly. I have since learned so much about domestic violence. I have learned that South Carolina has one of the highest femicide rates in the US, and I almost became a part of that statistic. ********* is a dangerous man. He has no regard for anyone else. I believe has no remorse. He has no regard for the law, and he needs to be held accountable. He is a real threat to society and a harm. Thank you.