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On May 29th , 2024 Amy Moore, a mother and school teacher of Normal, IL tragically lost
her life in an act of domestic violence. This heinous act resulted in her murder with her estranged husband taking his own life after he shot and killed her.
Why am I writing about this you may ask? Until now, I haven’t written my blogs based
on current events. I am writing about this because when I read the article covering this story on Saturday, it shook me to my core. I kept rereading and rereading the news article from WEEK 25 News. I couldn't escape the thought of how horrible of a situation this was, and that feeling stuck with me all the way through the weekend. Reading the details and hearing all the news coverage of her tragic death triggered my cPTSD and lead to memories of when I, too, feared for my safety.
No one should ever lose their life at the hands of their abuser. No one. I am thankful that I am now safe, but seeing this news story led me to think of all the other countless situations and domestic events I have experienced and have been aware of happening to other people over the years. I fear at times that seeing these reports or hearing these stories will affect my cPTSD forever. I may never fully recover from that reaction. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can result from experiencing chronic trauma, such as prolonged child abuse or domestic violence. I was diagnosed with this when I was at the residential treatment center, The Refuge A Healing Place. At that time, I was still residing with my abuser.
I shared this news article to my social media pages and had multiple individuals reach out to me regarding what I shared. I kept receiving the same messages from my friends and followers. The resounding message was that things like this should never happen and people were grateful to me for spreading of awareness about my situation. I have said this over and over again since I began sharing my story of being victim and survivor of domestic violence: I share my story because I don’t ever want someone else to go through what I went through. I want others to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel when you ask for help. I want others to know the resources to ask for assistance when you need it. I want others to find strength by reading my story knowing that they, too, can survive what they are going through. Unfortunately, Amy’s story didn’t end with her getting out. She was still trying to divorce her abuser. My heart is so broken for Amy, her three children, and the rest of her family. No one’s life should ever end at the hands of their abuser.
Since Saturday, nearly everywhere I have gone I have heard people talking about this
story and I have heard tons of ridiculous theories that people have. The one thing that I haven’t heard enough of is people just believing this was a tragic act of domestic violence. I have heard others saying so many OTHER reasons on why they are speculating that this occurred. Some say, that he must have had mental health issues, some are saying that she drove him to do it, some saying that they had no idea that this woman was ever abused, some saying that she didn’t deserve this. Hearing other's questions about the abuser’s reasoning made me completely disgusted. Hearing others questioning if it was really abuse infuriated me. Hearing people say that they wish that they knew because they would have helped her broke my heart.
There are so many reasons why someone doesn’t share their story of abuse with others when it occurs, but that doesn’t mean that it isn't real. Speaking up about the abuse that I experiencing was the hardest thing that I ever did. If someone ever shares with you that they are being abused, believe them. If someone choses to share their abuse with you, please don’t question them. In a lot of cases they are taking a risk sharing it with you and it is really hard to share these things. I am sure that a lot of victims of abuse question if it is safe to share, which is why so much abuse happens in silence without a victim ever asking for help from someone else. Just because you don’t personally see the abuse, or see the marks (if it is physical) doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening. Overhearing all of these comments all week shook me. I was hearing them in line at the grocery store, in the physical therapy office, overhearing it yesterday in the nail salon. This story has clearly been something that has impacted our Central Illinois community. In reading the articles that have been in the media surrounding this tragic event, I learned that she has had orders of protection that had come and gone and that she and her abuser would get back together on and off. All of this is unfortunately very common, and a pattern I know all too well.
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, please know that there are many resources, and there are so many people that will believe you and want to help you. At the end of the day, your (and your family’s) safety is the most important thing. It will be hard, I unfortunately, have learned this first hand. There will be some people that will give you a ton of support, there will be other people who believe the lies that you abuser tells. There will still be people that love you and want to protect you. Leaving my abuser has been one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Regardless of whether you know something first hand or not, believe victims. It could save their lives. Support them when they ask for help. Be there if they need their kids picked up from school. Go with them if they need support in asking for help from the police or an attorney. If they call you in a panic late at night and need help drop what you are doing to be there. These things could save someone’s life.
I made the decision a year and a half ago that I was going to take a horrible situation
that I was in and turn it into something good by doing my best to help others. I am actively
fundraising for our local domestic violence shelter to help provide more resources for women and children that need help in the Peoria, IL area. If you want to help and join my fight please contact me here.
Resources for help if you are a victim of domestic violence:
- 911 Please Call this number if you or a loved one is in danger
- Peoria County Family Justice Center (orders of protection)
o 309-676-4280
435 Hamilton Blvd, Peoria, IL 61602
o 309-888-5521 M-F 8:00-4:00
o 309-827-7070 24 Hour Domestic Violence Hotline
- Center for Prevention of Abuse, serving central Illinois
o 309-691-0551
720 W Joan Ct, Peoria IL 61614
Open 24 hours a day, call or just go there in an emergency for help
303 E Oakland Ave, Bloomington, IL 61701
o 309-828-7359
Understand your legal rights and options to file a rideshare sexual assault lawsuit and how to hire the right Lyft or Uber sexual assault lawyer to help you seek justice and move forward.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
o 800-799-7233
To help the three children that have been orphaned in the horrible tragedy, please go to the Go Fund Me that was set up to help this family.
Join my fight locally and join my team for the Center for Prevention of Abuse’s Duck Race by either contacting me (hyperlink to contact) or donating here:
If you don’t do anything else, please just remember to believe the victims, you could save a life.
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