She survived 45 minutes of hell - kelly sutliff
Case File — Domestic Violence
"He was going to kill me, but I survived. There is going to come a day when he does kill someone, and the blood will be on the system's hands."
— Kelly Sutliff, victim impact statementKelly meets Chris online. He is charming, attentive, and says all the right things.
Three months in, he moves into Kelly's home. Kelly begins experiencing unexplained illness — fatigue, hives, chronic headaches.
Chris proposes after just four months of dating.
They marry legally, followed by a ceremony in Hawaii in April.
Chris sends Kelly and her best friend Christina for a prepaid spa day, then greets them home with wine.
Kelly discovers Chris's infidelity at 4am. By 7:52pm, police arrive to find Chris naked, covered in blood, holding a military knife. Kelly has been strangled three times and fought for her life for 45 minutes.
Chris red-flags Kelly. Police arrive at her home to confiscate her only means of protection.
After four years, Chris pleads guilty — but is permitted to retire on a full military pension first. Sentence: three years' probation.
After years of legal delays and petitions for half her home, the divorce is finally settled.
"I was not going to let that man kill my dog. There was no way in hell."
— Kelly SutliffEvery breakup was someone else's fault. He was single because the women in his past weren't right — never because of anything he did.
Speed can be a way of anchoring someone before they've had time to really see who they're with. Pay attention to the pace.
Kelly told friends he seemed almost too good. They reassured her she just wasn't used to being treated well. Sit with that feeling instead of explaining it away.
He never cut Kelly off from her best friend — he just reduced access slowly, while keeping her on his side with grand gestures. Isolation doesn't always look like isolation.
Kelly has said this again and again. If your intuition is sounding off, it's right. Don't talk yourself out of it. Don't let someone else explain it away for you.
