janet gomez: she was like, are you with kenia? and i said, no, i thought she was with you. somehow she disappeared. she was, like, are you with kenya? and i say u no, i thought she w with you. where was she? and clues on the surveillance tape and strange stories from a witness. and then another beauty. this one left for dead. she was unrecognizable. was evil stalking young women? both dark haired. both pretty girls. it was chillingly similar. a place that led to unheard of t places. and then finally, far from the city, the truth revealed on a quiet country road. he got out of the car. and let out this scream. and an act of courage from a woman who refused to be a victim. and i won. and i won. the woman barely alive. her jaw shattered in a dozen pieces. aaten once-beautiful face unrecognizable after the brutal beating, the rape, the fire, the fall, the massive, nearly-fatal stroke. someone thought she would be deadgh now. someone who fled into the night
esther hartsky: it was really scary. and since we didnt know who had done this, i kept looking out of the hospital room and seeing if someone would come to finish the job. and so we had to keep her completely anonymous in the hospital. we had a code that we had to say to go see her. only family members and only ones that were listed. keith morrison: so you were always kind of looking over your shoulder? esther hartsky: definitely. keith morrison : lydias family was quite unaware that police did have a prime suspect, travis forbes, who was also a suspect in the disappearance of a girl lydias family had never heard of, kenia monge. detective jaclyn shaklee: the similarities were definitely the bleach. i dont know what it is about forbes but he has an obsession with bleach. and we had actually heard that from his past girlfriends as well that he would obsessively clean his house with bleach, and there was bleach used in kenias case as well, the fact that they were both dark haired, both p
shell. critical care hospital, lydia tillman was still alive, if barely. still in a medically induced coma, still suffering god knew what damage from her massive stroke, but all the while, her family sat by her side and talked to her. esther hartsky: we d say, lydia, youre doing great. youre healing. you just rest and heal. thats all you have to do. wed play classical music for her. wed talk over her so she knew we were there. we just wanted that ever presence for her. keith morrison: do you think she was aware of any of that? esther hartsky: i think deep inside she knew that her family was fighting for her. keith morrison : as if worrying about lydias fragile condition wasnt enough, her family also feared the attack wasnt over.
working its way toward trial, he sat silently, mute in his cell. especially, when detective shaklee paid him a visit. detective jaclyn shaklee: he was looking at me like a caged animal. his eyes were huge. he it was really creepy. o obviously i wanted to talk to him. i wanted to get an interview with him and see if he would if he would tell me something, and he immediately said, im not talking to you. get get out of here. keith morrison : but across town, someone was communicating. after spending five weeks in icu, lydia tillman was transferred to a local rehab hospital, and a long, slow recovery began. boy #1 (home video): hi, lydia. esther hartsky: i showed her a video of my kids saying hello to her because they missed their aunt lydia. boy #2 (home video): i want you to get better soon. esther hartsky: and she got to the part where my four-year-old started to talk and she laughed and he said, hi, lydia. boy #3 (home video): hi, lydia. esther hartsky: its the first time i got to
April is Deaf History Month. The objective is to raise awareness of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people’s struggles and highlight inclusivity and equal opportunities in a hearing society. However, there are no plans to officially observe the month in Wyoming.