Relationship Violence Victims: Yes, It Happened To Them

Alexandra Briggs, 26, was beaten with a bat and burned with cigarettes until a coworker stepped in and helped her put her ex-boyfriend behind bars.

Reena Becerra, 38, was strangled by her boyfriend, who, she says, threatened he'd "do a Laci Peterson" on her. She's getting her Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Tiana Notice, 25, was stabbed to death, allegedly by her boyfriend. Her case inspired a Connecticut law strengthening the enforcement of protection orders.

Julie Solis, 36, was jolted into action when, she says, "a cop gave me a card that said, ‘Leave this man. Here's the number for help.'"

April Singiser, 22, a nursing student, put her ex-boyfriend in jail after he held a knife to her throat. He gets out next February.

Amilia Duchon-Voyles, 31, was so fearful, "I would cry if I was 10 minutes late to meet him." She's now an advocate for domestic violence victims.

Jennica Tulao, 25, was hit, bruised and harassed by her boyfriend of seven months. "I had so many long-sleeved shirts," says the waitress.

Kalyn Risker, 39, says she wishes she'd known the early warning signs: "It might've kept me out of the emergency room." Her boyfriend shattered her left eye socket.

Celena Roby, 33, a firefighter, says, "My ex-husband tried to control everything I did." She successfully lobbied for a law in West Virginia to protect others.

Vanessa Saulter, 37, says, "My friends saw the red flags of abuse before I did." Now she talks to students she thinks may be at risk.