Good evening friends.

Tonight our great friend Kim Mershon steps up with a hard to believe story.  We are not going to edit anything she wrote.  This was pure heart and guts to write on such a topic.

Here’s Kim;

 “I am trying to reach as many people as I can in the hopes that some will find resources to get help and get away from their abusers.  My Mom was only 40 when my father killed her after many years of abuse & torture.  He was a violent, sadistic savage who took pleasure in the pain of others.   Being that it is domestic violence awareness month, I want to share as much as I can, as far as I can.  Here is the text from the about section of her page, please feel free to contact me with if you have any questions or need further info.  I created the page in 2013 when it was the 30th anniversary of her death:

 My Mother was murdered on May 25, 1983 by her husband, she was 40 years old. This year marks 30 years that we have lived without her and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her and miss her. I was 11 when she died and 12 when I testified against him (I refuse to call him my father, he was NOT a father). It started with a shove and escalated to a slap and she swore it would get better and he would stop but it never gets better and they don’t stop, they escalate. Slaps turned into to punches and kicks and beatings and rape and being threatened in her own home with guns and knives.

No one should have to live like that, especially at the hands of someone who is supposed to love them. I don’t know why she stayed with him, I’ve asked that question thousands of times over the years and I have no answer and I never will. Women stay in violent relationships for any reason and no reason and sometimes just because they can’t believe they can live and be ok without a man. I cannot imagine anything worse than being afraid in your own home and if you’re being hurt by the man who claims to love you, you need to get out NOW! Especially if you have children, they didn’t ask to be in this situation and they need to come first and be protected.

Domestic violence laws have changed since 1983 but so many women are beaten, terrorized and killed every single day by their significant others and it needs to stop. You are worth so much more than being someone’s punching bag and you can be ok on your own. No one should stay in a violent relationship for any reason, I would rather scrub toilets in grand central station and live in a closet than be afraid to go home. I created this page to remember my Mother and I hope to enlighten people and maybe give someone the courage to reach out and get help and get away before its too late. Its not just you, your whole family suffers with you. God Bless all of the victims of domestic violence!

Kim has a Facebook page in memory of her mother and others that may be victims of domestic violence. Here is the link to that Facebook Page; In Loving Memory of Ann Marie Harvey Mershon.

Thanks so much!!

Kim Mershon