Original subtitles

Terror is not a big enough word.

I wrote a letter to my boys.

I told my boys that I love them

more than anything on this earth

and I'm so, so sorry that it ended like it did.

I prayed and prayed and I pled to god,

please, please, let me get out of this.

When desire overtakes reason,

the human mind can unleash deadly obsession.

These are true stories told by the victims.

I was 44 years old when I divorced,

and I'm like, you're almost halfway there.

You better start doing some good, positive things.

And so in August of 2012,

I had just started my job

with texarkana independent school district.

I'm a teacher.

I was really looking forward to this new chapter in my life.

I had a cinderella upbringing.

Both of my parents worked in education.

I was born into a Christian home.

My parents were very strict,

but they were strict in a good, loving way.

God loves US. We love others.

That was a very strong theme all throughout my upbringing.

I got my bachelor's degree in elementary education

and started teaching school right after that.

First day after I taught, I remember thinking,

I cannot believe I'm getting paid for this.

I would do this for free.

I got married in between my junior and senior year

of college in 1989.

We met on a summer job.

So I was 20 when I met him and 21 when we married.

My husband and I were married for six years

before we had our first son.

Lincoln was born in 1996.

I had a second child two and a half years later.

His name is Hudson.

I think what happened to US happens to a lot of families.

You kind of lose touch with each other.

We got married really young.

I poured my life into raising my boys.

And my husband was at work a lot.

There was not a lot of time for relationship building.

I eventually found a house that I loved.

It was a house that was built in the '40s

with still the original wood floors.

It was three bedrooms.

I spent a lot of time decorating it and working on it

and just building my nest.

Even painted the doors a bright yellow color

because I felt like that was a happy yellow.

This house had an attic.

I had some people come over and see if

we could convert the attic into an actual second floor.

I want to turn into a recording studio for my boys.

I need to keep their drum set away from me.

We'll double the soundproofing.

The person that picked up, his name was Curtis Jones.

He came over and looked at the space.

My first impression of Curtis was that he was confident.

He was confident in the job.

I'd only need some of my team on the job,

so that'll keep the price down.

Had kind of a charisma about him,

but he's not attractive at all.

Is that rude?

I don't know how to say that.

He just seemed like the best person for the job.

And that's all it was supposed to be.

Hey. Come on in.

Just making sure my team are on track.

Two more weeks, and we're done.

Just holler if you need any other help with anything.

I'm okay.

You go check on your team?

Kind of got a whiff of, like, maybe he's, like, liking me.

He kept coming over and kept coming over

and kept talking to me.

I mean, he knew that I had just gotten divorced.

And I said I am not at all

looking for any kind of a relationship,

friendly or otherwise.

I'm working on this house, raising my boys,

and getting my life back together.

He didn't take the hint,

and he didn't take no for an answer,

and he just kept coming.

One more day, and we're done.

Curtis did pay attention to me.

That felt good.

I'd been in this dry desert of a marriage for many, many years.

And then little sprinkles of rain.

I felt really good.

So, I was thinking

maybe I could take you out sometime.

Well, I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask.

I consciously thought, I'm just going to have fun

for a little bit.

That is how our relationship began.

In the spring and summer of 2013,

I did just fall into a routine.

There was never a conversation.

There was never, like, you know,

do you want to be my boyfriend or girlfriend

or anything like that.

I fell into a routine of him

always calling me and being there.

I knew we weren't the same. We weren't equally yoked.

I knew that he had some history of some mistakes.

Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?

There's no good time to say you have a criminal record.

We've been together for months.

I'm sorry.

It's not as bad as it sounds.

10 years ago, I split from my ex.

I went back into her house to get my stuff.

She called the cops, and I was charged with burglary.

I went to jail.

It wasn't 10 days or 10 weeks or even 10 months.

It was 10 years ago.

He had stayed out of trouble

and been a productive member of society for a decade.

We did go on motorcycle rides in Arkansas

up in the wind-y mountains

or we would go to dinner --

just do normal stuff, watch movies

or, you know, hang out.

I don't like cigarettes and smoking,

so he quit smoking

for about three months, which I appreciated.

And then he slowly started started smoking again

and I was like, what?

You know, you've gone this long

and I know that was hard.

So why are you starting up?

He wanted to be around me a lot.

It wasn't very, I don't know, thoughtful.

Maybe he was on his best behavior at the beginning

and then slowly that wore off.

One night, I remember we just pulled into a gas station

and were getting gas.

Get me a candy bar.

And he just barked orders at me.

I would've done anything for him if he'd asked nicely.

But the way he barked it at me like I was a maid or a dog...

Get your own.

...i was just like, you don't bark orders at me like that.

What the hell did you just say to me?

What did you say to me? Get your own?

You get me a candy bar.

If I ask you to get me a candy bar, you get me a candy bar.

That was one of the first times

that I kind of felt scared.

You get out there and get me a candy bar right now.

It embarrassed and humiliated me.

And I jumped out of the truck

and made the decision to walk home.

I made a quick right turn into a dark neighborhood

that probably wasn't very safe.

I heard a truck turn onto the street.

I could just tell by how it was driving that it was him.

Get in the truck.

I remember hearing his truck screech around the corner.

I could just tell that it was him.

Get in the truck.

My heart was beating hard.

I was breathing hard. I was angry.

He just grabbed me like this to pull me into the truck.

It seemed like it was in the blink of an eye.

We were in the truck and it was over.

He proceeded to drive me home yelling the whole way.

There was a mixture of emotions.

There was shock. There was fear.

There was anger that he would treat me in such a way.

And there was embarrassment and humiliation.

I was scared, but as this was the first time

that he had really shown any physical aggression

or, you know, a dangerous side,

it was a fight, it was over,

and I didn't give it the weight that I should have.

I should have cut ties right then.

He had a special knack for turning things around

and making it seem like it was your fault.

I did not tell my parents.

I did not tell any other friends.

I did not tell the police.

Want some juice, angel?

The next morning, just acts like nothing's wrong.

And that's not okay with me.

I have to talk things out and have an apology.

I'm sorry.

I just couldn't stand you running off like that.

I definitely thought after this incident

that it was a one-time thing,

that it would never happen again.

A few weeks later, he got angry for something.

All I remember is

that I refused to do what he asked me to do.

And he grabbed me by the hair

and grabbed me by the neck in the back

and drug me across the room.

So literally his hand is back here and he's dragging me,

and my feet are trying to keep up,

and he throws me on the couch.

I've never been touched and in such a manner.

It's confusing because this person

that's supposed to love you

can treat you in such a horrific manner.

For somebody to drag a whole body

across the room by their hair,

it was -- it was horrifying.

I am a mom. I'm a teacher.

I'm a Christian. I'm a sister. I am a friend.

If a girlfriend of mine had come to me

and told me what was going on,

I would have said, get away from him.

You deserve more.

But when I was in it, I couldn't see it.

But this hair-pulling incident

changed my mind.

You need to leave.

That was the first time

that I did pay attention to a red flag.

I need a clean break,

and this is just not healthy for me.

I thought that I could break up with him.

I could go back to my regular life

and he could go back to his, and that would be the end of it.

It's embarrassing to --

to not be the strong woman that you were brought up to be.

And it's embarrassing

because some people told me

you know, he's not a good influence.

You shouldn't be around him.

And I didn't listen.

And so my humiliation and embarrassment about that

kept me in isolation.

And that was a huge mistake.

He used his conniving skills of saying

well, I love you so much.

I've never had anything like this before.

And I need to still, you know, be friends with you.

And if you aren't friends with me

or you do just cut me off suddenly,

then I'll go crazy.

He would leave messages and say

I'm the one that's been your protector,

or keeping you safe, and I'm just checking on you,

so if you'll just let me know that you're okay,

then, you know, I'll leave you alone.

If I didn't answer...

...he would come by.

That was the beginning of an obsession

of him trying to get back with me.

I was not changing my mind.

I was not going back.

And I think that once he realized,

that made him angry

and that's where he turned a corner

and things got super scary.

Just constantly having the feeling

that somebody is watching you

and somebody is following you

is nerve-racking.

It literally exhausts you emotionally

to constantly be looking over your shoulder.

I went to the bank and was changing all of my banking,

all of my banking accounts and everything,

because he had stolen papers and files from my house.

I heard my car lock, lights going on and off.

I knew it was him

because he was the only one that had a set of keys.

I'm on high alert all the time.

And so yes, when I left the bank,

I was looking over my shoulder

and looking left and right

and trying to see him and trying to stay safe.

He just tormented me every day for no reason.

If he can't get me back,

then he or someone else will take care of me.

It might be six weeks from now.

It might be six months from now.

And if I ever end up going away or going to jail

or something, they're going to get you.

And even if I'm not here,

you can know that it was from me.

Lincoln, he was at college,

so he was in Tennessee for part of this time.

My son Hudson was staying with his dad

more than he was me,

which was so hard

because I want my child with me.

But I was afraid that my house was dangerous.

I was still keeping up a facade at work

that everything was okay.

I didn't tell anyone because I was embarrassed.

He told me one time that this motorcycle gang

put explosives on the bottom of my car.

He had talked to them,

so they were going to come take them off that night.

So if I heard something outside my house

or going on with my car, not to be alarmed.

Once again he was doing me a favor.

I was exhausted.

You can't make a judgment.

I couldn't differentiate what was ridiculous lies.

Every little, bitty noise,

you think that's probably them.

I worried a whole, whole lot.

I got in my car

and he called me, and I was terrified still

and wanted to know were they off?

Did they do what they were supposed to do, you know?

And he says, they did.

You're fine. You're safe.

You know, thank goodness you have me.

I never know what to believe.

But the fear of that possibly being true

is what keeps me stuck and paralyzed.

I remember thinking

what if he just told me they took them off?

What if they're still on there?

I was terrified to turn the key.

He said there were explosives on my car.

Men were coming over to take them off.

I was terrified still and wanted to know were they off.

He says, they did. You're fine. You're safe.

What if they're still on there?

If I die, I know where I'm going.

I was terrified to turn the key.

And I did.

Nothing happened.

And I said more prayers of thankfulness.

That was another layer of hatred,

to put me through torment and fear.

One time, I remember I got home and I opened my back gate.

There was a huge piece of broken sheetrock

blocking the whole entire staircase.

There was a letter taped to the door.

There were dying flowers in a vase by the door.

These were the thoughts of a desperate, irrational human.

Desperate people do desperate things.

And so that's what was scary to me.

It was disturbing.

It continued and escalated.

He was relentless. He would not let go.

One day when I got home,

he had ladders and ropes and paint cans

and probably four or five men

and work trucks all in and around my yard,

and they were frantically painting

the whole entire outside of my house.

I said, Curtis, I did not ask you to paint my house

and I have asked you to stay away.

And I remember saying, you are dangerous to me,

and I cannot be with someone that is dangerous to me.

I made the mistake of cracking my door

half an inch.

He barged his shoulder in with all of his might.

Your friends think we're broken up.

Take out your phone.

He tells me, you're going to text them right now

and tell them that you made a mistake

and that really I'm a good guy and that we're back together.

He kept shoving the gun at my head

and was saying, do it. Do it.

I texted them I've made a mistake.

Curtis really is a good guy.

Just exactly what he told me too.

We are still, you know, in a relationship.

And I pressed send.

And he left.

And I just shook like a leaf for the rest of the night.

There are no words to describe.

Terror is not a big enough word.

At one point, he called and said,

do you want all this to end?

I was willing to hear any ideas

and have this be over.

I was emotionally exhausted.

And he said, if you pay me $5,000,

I will leave you alone forever.

So I said, I don't have $5,000.

And he said, I've seen your credit,

and I know that you can get $5,000 if you want it.

He said, if you do that, I won't kill you.

And I answered yes.

I thought, maybe today's the last day.

This is really the end, right?

Maybe this nightmare is over tonight.

He said, if you don't want to die, you'll let go.

He took all the money I had.

I really had hope that it was the end.

I wanted it to end so badly.

I went to my sister's for Christmas with my kids,

and so I was excited, but I was petrified and nervous

keeping these two worlds apart.

And I remember one time my mom and sister in the kitchen

just talking about a recipe.

And I remember watching them and it was like,

how can y'all be talking about a recipe?

Like, I'm trying to stay alive over here.

Like, it just seemed so mundane.

I wish I had that.

I wish I was talking about a recipe

instead of talking about not getting killed.

I had a security system in my home

I could check from my phone.

I had cameras so you could see all the way through my house.

I could turn the alarm on remotely from my phone.

Curtis was in my house.

I had a security system in my house

I could check from my phone.

I had cameras so you could see all the way through my house.

Curtis was in my house.

I would turn the alarm on the house

remotely from my phone.

He would be inside the house and turn the alarm off.

Hello?

Curtis called and I told him to get out of my house.

He wouldn't do it.

Jones: You're at your sister's.

Just leave US alone, please.

I on purpose never told him where my sister lived.

He said that he and a bunch of people were already on the way.

And he spit out her address.

I had to leave.

I made up some lame story that they all knew wasn't true.

I got in my car and I left as fast as I could.

I was trying to draw him away from my boys

and my parents and my sister and her kids.

I don't want my kids to see me murdered.

I don't want to be the cause of this tragedy

in all these people's lives.

I would just rather go and be murdered by myself

than have them see that.

So...

And it was super, super hard to leave.

I kept driving until I found some little fishing cabins.

That is the night that I knew I was probably going to die.

My ex-husband bought me a .22 pistol.

I had a Bible and a gun to protect my own life.

I wrote a letter to my boys.

And I told them the truth about what was going on.

And I told my boys that...

I love them more than anything on this earth

and I'm so, so sorry

that it ended like it did.

I made a decision that I had to ask for help.

I had to tell my parents what was going on.

And I had to tell the police what was going on.

So I ran, I called my dad, and I said,

I'm in trouble, and I need help.

And I told him everything that had been going on.

That Curtis told me that he was coming to get me.

So I told him that I was going to the police,

and that's what I did.

Amy Smith, who was at the domestic violence center,

said, we will help you,

and we will walk you through every single step.

I was getting an emergency protective order

because my life was really in danger.

That was the first person that reached out their hand to me

and helped me and I thought,

maybe she can help me and I won't die.

My parents came into town to be with me and to help me.

I'd been trying to protect my family from being involved,

and I felt very guilty.

Now they had to experience some terror with me.

About 1:30 at night, my dad came into the bedroom,

and he said, somebody just threw a brick

through the window.

I jumped up and I ran in there, and my mother was terrified.

A brick had come through

two panes of a storm-glass window,

had hit the wooden headboard so hard

that it broke the headboard,

and wood chips were all the way

across on the other side of the bedroom.

Had that headboard not been there

and stopped the brick from coming all the way through,

it would have hit my mom in the head

and severely damaged if not killed her.

I want to press charges.

They explained to me that I didn't have any proof

that it was him that threw the brick.

I have a protection order.

There must be something we can do.

We could come up with a burglary charge

because I had proof from the alarm company's website

that I was turning on an alarm

from a remote area with my phone,

and he was turning it off from inside the house.

He was picked up and arrested for burglary.

A detective told me he's gonna be mad when he gets out,

so you need to take precautions

and you need to be very careful.

I left church and I got home.

I pulled up into my garage.

I had a habit of shutting my garage door completely

before I would get out of the car.

I was just about to shut the garage door.

Get out. Get out! Get out!

Get out! Get out!

My first thought was, get your gun. Get your gun.

Then I thought, by the time I turn to get my gun

and turn back towards him, it'll be too late.

So I threw my car in reverse

and backed down the driveway as fast as I could.

And as I was putting it in drive to go forward...

I could not believe that he was actually shooting at me.

Glass shattered all in my face.

And it was so loud.

It was so loud.

He opened fire for what seemed like forever.

I felt like it was maybe six shots,

but the police later found four casings.

I drove a little ways. I parked somewhere.

I didn't feel any pain.

You're so terrified and your whole body so numb.

I knew I saw blood here,

and I knew that I had been shot.

I called and she said, 911. How can I help you�

and out of my mouth came, I've been shot.

I've been shot.

And so I told her what street I was on.

I said, where are they?

And she said, they're coming. They're coming.

Hold on.

It seemed like forever to me.

I'm sure it was a few seconds, you know, might be a minute.

I just felt like that if I stopped thinking

or stopped moving, then I would die.

So you don't have a choice.

You just are in survival mode,

and I felt like god gave me a clear mind.

A policeman got there and opened the door

They were looking for him,

but they didn't know where he was.

I ended up at the hospital.

And there were guards around my room

because he was a shooter on the loose.

So that very first night in the hospital...

They didn't want me to be left alone,

and I didn't want to be left alone.

The next day, they were contacting people that he knew.

It was on Friday morning

that somebody convinced him to go talk to the police.

He went to the police station and said,

I understand that y'all are looking for me.

And they found the gun hidden in between some rocks

in this creek in my neighborhood that I didn't even know existed.

We had the gun and we had shells from the site,

and so we had possibility for some ballistics

and some hard evidence

that he was the one that pulled the trigger.

I found out that that bullet broke my pelvic bone,

travelled through and tunneled through my pelvic bone,

and is still sitting in my back today.

I choose to look at that bullet like a good thing

because to me, that's a constant reminder

every day to be grateful.

To be grateful for every minute and every hour and every day.

Some decisions that I made

got me in the predicament in the first place,

and those are the things that I'm sorry for.

My boys were with me every step of the way,

and I'm grateful that I do get to see them grow up

and get married

and one day see some grandbabies.

Every single time that I've had an opportunity to talk to a girl

that might be going through the same thing

or speak in, you know, domestic violence events

or police academy events or doing this,

I am keeping a promise to god

because I refuse to let this evil person

and this bad thing remain a bad thing.

I actively, proactively, positively

will turn what he meant for evil into good,

and I will do that until the day I die.