Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Her ex-boyfriend lured her to a rooftop telling her he wanted
to talk about getting back together. They needed a quiet
place to talk. She wanted to believe him although she had left the
relationship because he had beaten her once too many times and
she was seeing someone else. She knew in her heart he loved her,
but she finally felt strong enough to tell him it was really over
and that they both needed to move on. She entered the building,
passing a boy on the staircase, and went up the stairs to the roof.
He was there waiting for her and closed the door behind her.
He told her that it would never be over — that if he couldn’t
have her, nobody could. He took out a hammer and began
striking her on the head, fracturing her skull, splattering her
blood and brain matter on the roof. As she fell to the ground, he
ran, leaving her alone and critically injured. She was able to
crawl down the fire escape. A neighbor heard her screams and
called the police, who found her near death. Through sheer will
and quick medical intervention, she lived to see him arrested.
However, she really wanted no part of the prosecution of the man
who attempted to end her life. Prosecutors intended to try him
for attempted murder and assault in the first degree. 1
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Prosecuting A Domestic Violence Case:
Looking Beyond Victims’ Testimony
by Elizabeth Cronin
The prosecution of domestic violence cases has always been difficult. For
many years, intra-familial violence was seen as a private issue, not something
for the courts and law enforcement to address. Women were not encouraged to
report domestic violence. They risked being ostracized if they came forward,
and, when they did, they often found an unsympathetic criminal justice system.