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Nov 4, 2009 10:13 pm US/Pacific
Elderly Domestic Violence Survivor Speaks Out
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) ―
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Sally Montgomery still bears the scars of the alleged attack by her 91-year-old husband.
CBS
A 78-year-old woman who survived an alleged vicious assault at knifepoint from her 91-year-old husband is speaking out about her ordeal in hopes of helping other potential victims of domestic abuse.
Sally Larsen Montgomery of Roseville is far from a typical victim of domestic violence. Local domestic violence intervention group WEAVE says only about one to two percent of victims they help are over the age of 60.
"I'm feeling guilty because I put him in jail," Sally said.
Experts say guilt is common for domestic violence victims, and elderly victims often face additional worries.
"They may be on a fixed income and really concerned about how they're going to be able to live if they leave their abusive partner," said WEAVE executive director Beth Hassett. "Perhaps the person who's being abusive also has that role of being their caregiver, too."
The aftermath of a stroke has limited Sally's mobility, and her husband Claude Montgomery, the man accused of attempting to kill her, was her caregiver. Sally fears that helped drive him over the edge.
"I feel like he was so frustrated with having taken care of me for so long," Sally said.
Claude may have taken care of her, but she said he abused her in the past and she kept quiet about it -- an all-too-common part of domestic violence victims' stories.
"It's too embarrassing. You don't want to tell anybody about it," Sally said. She said she stayed because she felt she had nowhere else to go, and neither did her husband.
"He should stay in jail for the rest of his life, but how long is that?" she said. "He's not gonna live very long in there."
Sally said she is struggling with guilt, but also feel empowered. She hopes to become an advocate and work specifically with older victims of domestic abuse.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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