2 Investigators: Abuse Victim Describes Being 'Scared For Her Life'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- He's in jail now, but the woman he beat up and abused is racked with questions, like why didn't she get help sooner?
She turned to 2 Investigator Pam Zekman to share her story.
Inside the "Whiskey Jane's" bar in Antioch, a surveillance camera captured Richard Brandes yelling at Amelia DeLoach. The altercation soon became physical. Brandes is seen lifting his 90-pound girlfriend up and throwing her on the bar, the pool table, and down on the floor where she hit her head.
"I was knocked out for a minute," said Amelia DeLoach , "You know at that point I knew it was going to get worse."
The video then shows Brandes shaking DeLoach violently and dragging her behind the bar, where he hits her, knees her, and then slams her to the ground.
DeLoach said leaving was never an option.
"I had tried running in previous altercations that we had; and obviously he's bigger, he's stronger, he's faster, and when he did catch me it was worse," DeLoach said.
"Honestly, I was scared for my life," said DeLoach. "And he told me. 'If you ever leave me, I will kill you,' and I believed him."
Wisconsin and Nevada court records show Brandes had been charged with beating three other women and got probation in each case.
DeLoach said she hoped that if she kept quiet, Brandes would not abuse her again, and so she refused to cooperate with prosecutors. The prosecutors used the video as evidence against him.
"It is not uncommon -- that fear, that hesitation she felt -- and we try our best to work around it, and move forward, and prosecute these cases, and stop it from happening again," said Jason Humke of the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.
DeLoach says she believes the court system failed her, because Brandes received probation with conditions in her previous case.
"He was placed on probation by the court to do a number of things, the most serious of which is not hurting her again," said Humke. "And he did it. So by definition we failed."
Brandes badly beat DeLoach again, just six months later.
"Actually stomping on the back of my head and neck," DeLoach recalled.
"I mean he was trying to kill me," said DeLoach. "He broke my neck and my back in five places."
That time she filed charges, because: "He threatened to kill my baby, our child, our 1-year old," DeLoach said.
Brandes recently pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic battery in DeLoach's most recent case. He received 4 years in prison; a result that underscores why experts say domestic violent victims should call for help.
"Call the hotline, if you are in immediate danger call the police, but call for help," said Vickie Smith, Executive Director of Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "Because its not going to stop, it's not going to get better."
Now DeLoach hopes her story will help others
"I wouldn't be in constant pain, I could have just left him, and I chose not to because I was too scared," said DeLoach. "Don't be too scared to leave."
Now Brandes' attorney has filed a motion to reduce his prison sentence to probation so Brandes can continue getting treated for his bipolar disorder and substance abuse -- treatments he says have helped him.
Here is a list of places women can contact for help if they are in a similar situation.
Illinois Domestic Violence Help Line
Voice: 877-863-6338
TTY: 877-863-6339
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Voice: 800-799-7233
TTY: 800-787-3224
