Publisher's Synopsis
This is the tragic story of the brutal murder of a beloved daughter at the hands of her estranged husband. With a long history of domestic violence, it is the psychopathic profile of a man obsessed with himself, that just two days before their divorce hearing and not caring about the consequences, he brutally murders his wife in front of their two small daughters; ages 3 and 1 1/2. The heinous stabbing and killing of his wife is committed in the parking lot of a police station, he uses 2 knives to commit his horrible act.The eldest daughter, at 3 years old recalls vividly how "pappi used little sticks to poke mommy", at that moment, their little lives were forever changed. One can imagine the horrific scene at the crime site; the victim is stabbed in a way that not only surprised, but shook the very fibers of the family. The author is the first to know of the murder; through this book he outlines the red flag alerts; begging that this does not happen to more people and families, seeking to help victims of domestic violence, and to those who are victims of the wave of domestic violence that has plagued our communities, now far more too often. The family is thrown into a separate reality, where trauma, grief, horror and pain become the norm. A tormented grandmother does all she can to soothe and comfort the babies from the raging fear and trauma-based behaviors they are now suffering from. There is no rest from the crying, screaming and the nightmares. The family's 17 year old son suffers from autism and cannot tolerate the chaos and screams; he also goes into fits of rage and the father has to leave his wife alone with the two girls, so he may soothe his son. The couple shares a struggle to move forward from a situation not of their choosing.The re-traumatization by "The System" is the next challenge the family must confront. The legal system, the social services system, the child protective services system, the social security administration, the mental health system, the primary school system, etc.. etc. All of the above rob the family of the rest, sleep and general rehabilitation the family so much requires now. All systems have their own beaurocracies and prerequisites; meetings to attend, forms to fill, red tape after red tape.It takes well over one year to finally comply with the court's requirements to legalize the adoption process for the girls. Now the couple are no longer grandparents; now they are parents, they go from doting, spoiling grandparents, to disciplinarians, providers and care-givers for two new members of the family.It soon becomes clear to the family that tragedy seems to evoke blessings, but one must "see with your heart" not just look at the fortuitous events that seem to meet and satisfy the needs of the family. The people that come into their lives and the people that leave their lives for unexplained reasons. Somehow financial needs are met, blessings also come to those they know and care about.Uncommon events begin to occur, there are manifestations in the home that seem to help calm and nurture the family. Supernatural events, sighting of spiritual beings, ghost orbs of light are witnessed by the family.The girls begin to exhibit talents and skills far above the norm for kids their age, they achieve outstanding educational performances, their son becomes more integrated into the family, his autistic behaviors begin to fade; he now has a little sister who becomes his best therapist.The family still requires much behavioral health therapies for the girls, and there are still too many challenges to confront in the future. How will the girls present their own trauma memories when they are older? What could have been avoided, why did they ignore the red flags? how could they not know the level of violence that someone with a psychopathic personality could inflict, a person who apparently was presumed to be mentally stable.
