Stalking

[wnylib]

17. Thanks, H2O Man. There were several other

incidents during that period of separation and divorce,.
One was a follow on the evening after the gun hostage incident. My roommate and the dog came to my rescue that time. I would not have survived without the help of friends and family. Even my ex's friends went to bat for me, trying to convince him to let go.

I met him in high school and began dating him right after a long term relationship had ended. My ego and confidence were bruised at the time and I was naive enough to believe that his attention and possessiveness were romantic, thanks to Hollywood, TV, and books.

He believed that being a husband conferred rights and entitlements on him. There was one occasion before I left him when I ended up in the ER. The ER doctor brought the police in to investigate. He squared off against two cops when they told him to leave the room and said that, as my husband, he was entitled to remain. He left only when they threatened him with arrest and charges of interfering in an investigation. But, before leaving, he bent close to "kiss" my cheek and whispered in my ear that I was dead if I told the cops what had happened.

I was 20 years old and too afraid to tell the cops the truth.
To their credit and my eternal gratitude, they understood and convinced me that I had to leave or he would some day kill me. There were no domestic violence shelters then. They gave me concrete advice on how to plan for and carry out leaving him. They said that they recognized from their experience that he had the type of attitude and behavior that spouse killers possess.

So, I had a lot of help which, unfortunately, too many people lack in those kinds of situations.