Welcome back.
Every nine seconds in the US,
A woman is assaulted or beaten.
That's according to the partnership
against domestic violence.
It is a serious issue that
needs year round attention.
No one understands that
more than Carolyn Thomas.
Her story isn't easy to hear
and the images you're about
to see are tough to take in,
but it's the reality of the
dangers of domestic violence.
December the 5th of 2003.
It was a Friday. We
was all over the place.
He was screaming and yelling
and Terence Kelly was
enraged and hallucinating.
Police believe he had just smoked
marijuana mixed with embalming fluid.
After that I really don't remember anything.
We had a tussle in there in my room.
I have when I fell into the closet
or bumped into something that made
the gun fall out of the shoebox.
What happened next would change
Carolyn Thomas's life and face forever.
I don't remember him actually
putting the gun to my temple
and pulling the trigger.
I didn't feel any pain.
But I do remember touching my
face and it not feeling the same.
It felt like a sponge,
just like over saturated sponge.
I lost 80% of my face.
Kelly and Thomas had a tumultuous 8
year on again, off again relationship.
Times. Several times.
And I would always go back.
Why didn't it just
end? Why didn't you want to just end love?
But would you abuse someone you love?
I wouldn't say I was abusive.
Mine was physical and verbal.
We got into some things a few times,
so the first time that he ever hit me.
But I'm not abusive person,
things started off well.
We were introduced to each other.
He was like really quiet at first.
But soon Thomas began to
notice streaks of jealousy
I was unable to associate
with my male cousins.
Her family had a bad intuition.
They warned her, but she didn't listen.
I was 22 at the time. And I
thought I knew everything. What
she didn't know is what would take place
years later at her Waco apartment. He
shot my mom first in the stomach and then
dragged me into the living room and then
shot me in the face point blank range.
Everything was just going so fast
and slow motion all at the same time.
A neighbor heard the gunshots and
called 911. When officers arrived,
we walked up to the stairwell.
Carolyn's mother was.
On the 1st flight she pointed
towards the apartment upstairs and
asked if her daughter got out.
Soon after Thomas's mom died,
officer Kermit Graham came
across Thomas's body.
I saw Miss Carolyn laying
face down on the floor
and police officer thought I was
need through my head to step over.
I grabbed his ankle,
let him know I was alive and
I was hold still holding
my gun and I went. Ohh.
A jury convicted Terence Kelly
of murder and attempted murder.
Come on over here.
Serving a life sentence should
have #5 at the Coffield unit.
Yes, Sir. The largest Texas prison.
My heart bleeds daily
about that, you know. But.
I tried to remember I just.
Kelly claims he has no
recollection of that day. I see
a very strong person,
but one look in the mirror is all it
takes for Thomas to remember what he did.
I've got to learn to love
the woman in the mirror.
That's it. Reconstructing Thomas's
face has been a lifelong journey.
She's had well over 25 surgeries.
Another surgery is scheduled to take
place next week at Houston Methodist.
Windows. But she's become whole again,
thanks to the painstaking work of a dream
team of doctors led by Eugene Alford,
he said. Carla, I'm not going to be able
to get you back to the way you once were,
but what we will do is that we will
get you to a point to where you feel
comfortable going out into the world.
And that was my first big major
magazine, was People magazine.
Thomas became the most recognizable
face of domestic violence.
She appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show,
Larry King Live Love Me some Larry King.
Thomas turned her pain into purpose,
mentoring women all over the country
while sorting up her own nonprofit,
voices for all foundation
to help other survivors
tell people, you know, a gun
is not nothing to play with.
Once you pull it out,
you **** that hammer back and you
pull that trigger, it's over.
And above all else, Thomas says,
please pay attention to the warning signs.
Don't rush off the jealousy.
Don't brush off the control
or the mental or emotional.
Don't brush any of that at all. And once
you leave, once you say
I'm gone, you put your
foot down. Don't go back.
Now we want to point out that men,
as well as women can be
victims of domestic violence.
Officer Graham sadly told us
that years after responding
to the scene with Carolyn,
his own son was killed as a
result of domestic violence.
He says don't be ashamed, report it.
Carolyn has another surgery November 30th.
If you'd like to help donate or
learn more about her foundation,
go to the story on kview.com.