Local church joins effort to help Troy woman
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November 11, 2013 |
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Tracee
Peterson |
A Troy woman is recovering in a Seattle hospital
more than a month after her husband allegedly assaulted
her with a baseball bat.
Authorities charged Joshua J. Peterson with
aggravated assault and assault with a deadly
weapon on September 30, two days after the
reported beating. Joshua remains jailed and his
bond is set at $500,000.
Now, the small community along the Idaho border
is pulling together to help Tracee, 38, and her
children, who are now living with their
grandparents.
More than 100 people attended a candlelight
vigil for Tracee on October 4 and friends are
now planning a dinner, auction and fundraiser on
November 16. The streets of Troy are lined with
purple ribbons, raising awareness about domestic
violence.
“The first time I drove through town and saw all
the purple ribbons it brought me to tears,” said
Tracee’s father Ed Hanson. “I don’t know where
they found that many purple ribbons, but the
town is covered in it.”
A Bonners Ferry church is pulling together with
our Troy neighbors.
"Christ is in our midst!" Father Gregory Horton
wrote his congregation in an email today. "Here
is an article describing the situation with the
Troy, Montana, woman that was severely beaten by
her husband. The five children are in the care
of their grandparents. Thanks to Mo Disney for
bringing this case to our attention and to Julie
Schrom for forwarding me the article. As I
stated in church several weeks ago, we will be
assisting in the effort to help this family over
the next months or even years. We have started a
little parish fund for them in order to help
with utility bills, medical bills, etc. If you
would like to assist, please send donations to
Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Church, PO Box 1025,
Bonners Ferry ID 83805 and earmark it 'Troy
Charity.' Our plan is to get in touch with the
grandparents and their church and maybe pay a
few bills for them as fundraising efforts start
to wane. We will also collect food and other
items for them ... once we are in touch, they
can tell us exactly what is needed. I am also
open to suggestions for fundraising ideas as
well ... I am forwarding this to the Ministerial
Association as well."
Hanson said he was the first to respond to the
scene on September 28 after Joshua called him in
a panic. Joshua and Tracee have been married for
more than a decade and have five children
together.
“He called and he was pretty hysterical. All he
said was ‘call 911, she’s still alive’ and that
was about it,” Hanson recalled. “(When I got
there) Tracee was not unconscious and was in
incredible pain. I couldn’t do much but hold her
hand and pray and wait for the EMTs.”
According to court documents, police found
Tracee with her mouth filled with blood and
extreme swelling in the nose, cheek and eye
areas. Her right ear was severed at the lower
lobe. Tracee was taken to Kalispell Regional
Medical Center.
Joshua later showed police where he had thrown
the bat allegedly used to beat Tracee. After
finding the bat, police arrested Joshua and
brought him to the Lincoln County Detention
Center. It was there that he admitted to police
that he had assaulted Tracee, according to court
records. If convicted, Joshua could be sentenced
to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
According to Hanson, this was not the first time
Joshua had assaulted Tracee, and the couple was
in the process of separating. In 2003, Joshua
was found guilty of misdemeanor partner-family
assault and sentenced to one year in prison with
all but 10 days suspended, according to news
reports.
Once hospitalized, Tracee spent eight days at
KRMC before being sent to Seattle on October 5,
where she is in critical but stable condition.
In Seattle, Tracee has undergone the first of
many surgeries and was in a medically induced
coma until October 10, according to Hanson. That
day she was able to talk to doctors and answer a
few basic questions. Doctors told her father
that nearly every bone in Tracee’s head was
broken because of the assault.
Since the assault, Troy has rallied around
Tracee’s family.
Local businesses have started raising money to
pay for Tracee’s medical bills and take care of
her children, ages 5, 6, 8, 11 and 16. Purple
bracelets and ribbons have been popping up all
over town and high school students organized a
day to wear purple to raise awareness about
domestic violence. October was domestic violence
awareness month.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Hanson said. “I’ve
been getting 15 to 20 hugs a day, some from
people I don’t even know … the love of this
community has made it possible for us to get
through this.”
Friends are now planning a fundraiser, according
to Kori Erickson, who has been friends with
Tracee since elementary school. On November 16,
an auction, children’s carnival and chili dinner
will take place in the elementary school gym
from 3 to 7 p.m. Later, the Copper Mountain Band
will play a benefit concert at the VFW in Troy.
“It’s amazing for a small town how everyone is
pulling together, but this is a group effort,”
Erickson said. “We not only want to help Tracee
and her kids, we also want to raise awareness
(about domestic violence).”
Editor's note: Fr. Horton did not cite the
source of this article, and newsbf regrets not
being able to give accurate credit. |
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