Hidden in plain sight- Domestic Violence in the South Bay
Some names have been changed or omitted for security and confidentiality purposes. Pam was held captive in Washington state while her captor abused her and stole a recent inheritance. By the time she escaped she was so badly injured that her doctor told her only the coroner had seen injuries like hers. Photo Pam never imagined she could become a victim of domestic violence. With a past in social work, she thought she knew the signs. But in 2004, Pam, a South Bay resident, was hospitalized for six months after a man she’d fallen for held her captive far from her family in Washington state. He beat her with whatever he could, mostly favoring bricks and cement blocks, and eventually strangled her to the brink of death. By the time she escaped, she had five broken ribs, a broken jaw and facial bones fractured in several places, a detached retina, broken teeth, a collapsed esophagus that required the insertion of a trachea tube, paralyzed vocal chords and one ear partially ripped from her head. As a result of her injuries she had 40 percent of her vocal chords removed and her entire face had to be reconstructed. Her captor, Darren Woodley, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals, and after…
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