Post by admin4laney on May 1, 2006 6:44:48 GMT -5
HAMILTON — A Hamilton woman whose estranged husband put a bullet in her head and left her for dead 12 years ago is hoping her story will inspire others to seek the help they need to escape abusive relationships.
It was on her 28th birthday, in May 1994, that Deanna Louderback’s life nearly ended at the hands of a man whom she had loved and trusted.
Louderback has spent most of the past 12 years trying to regain some normalcy in her life.
In recent years as the public’s awareness of domestic violence issues was elevated in the wake of newer highly publicized cases, Louderback found renewed inspiration and motivation to finish something she began long ago — chronicling her story in a book.
“It took a long time to write, but it’s finally finished and published,” Louderback said of her book, titled “Divorce by Murder.”
Louderback’s self-published book is currently only available online at www.lulu.com/content/289040
The book recounts that day in May 1994 when, as she was opening a bar she owned in the Cincinnati area, her estranged husband, Gary Heath, surprised her in the parking lot and forced her into the building at gunpoint.
Heath beat her for 45 minutes, then — while she was lying helpless on the floor — he put a bar chair across her chest and neck and piled four beer kegs on top.
He then stooped down, put a gun to Louderback’s head, wished her a “Happy Birthday,” pulled the trigger and left her for dead.
Louderback survived the attack, but was left with paralysis in her left eye and on the right side of her body. The bullet remains lodged between her brain stem and carotid artery.
Heath was sentenced to 31 to 65 years for the shooting, but he also is serving 30 years to life for the 1985 murder of Vendetta Cox in Warren County — a murder that had gone unsolved until Louderback was shot.
“I’m hoping that reading the book will save someone’s life,” Louderback said. “It’s not only about my story, but also references other local cases like Vendetta Cox, Laney Gwinner and Kelly Camargo — some of which remain unsolved but all of which involve women who were in abusive relationships.”
Contact Mary Lolli at (513) 820-2192 or mlolli@coxohio.com.
www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/04/28/HJN042906LOUDERBACKBOO_s.html?UrAuth=`N\NUOcNUUbTTUWUXUWUZT[UcUWUbU\UZUaUcUcTYWYWZV
