48 Hours - Live to Tell: One Last Hug

Episode Date: June 17, 2015

A woman survives a brutal attack to find true love -- the real story of a survivor and the hero EMT that helped save her life and more. Troy Roberts reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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When I heard that they were going to take me by helicopter to the hospital, I knew right then that they didn't think that I was going to make it. They only airlift patients who are so severe that they're about to die. I remember thinking at one point he is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. He always told me that if I was to break up with him, you know, he would come back and kill me. On January 24th, 2012, I walked outside my home. It was a very dark and eerie night. There was not a sound in the neighborhood.

And no one knew I was out there. I went outside to meet Robert Burton in the hopes that he would really leave me alone forever. He said that he just wanted a hug. That's all he wanted, a final goodbye. All he wanted was closure, and I basically walked outside to my murder. And I walked up to him. He looked kind of empty, no emotion, absolutely nothing in his eyes, just soulless.

I mean, he was just blank face. He put his arms around me for a hug. Squeezed me a little bit, and I didn't even say a word. He never said anything, and I never said anything. I heard it click. I didn't know say a word. He never said anything, and I never said anything. I heard it click. I didn't know what the sound was. He just started just stabbing me with that knife. It just kept coming at my face.

I knew my face was completely covered in blood, and my hair felt soaking wet. I mean, it was seriously, like, dripping wet. Like, I just got out of the shower. I'm just trying to scream, and I'm trying to crawl, and I wasn't getting anywhere. I felt myself dying, so I couldn't really breathe. I felt myself, I really was not going to make it.

I really said, oh my, this is it. I just kept praying, just Please don't let me die. Melissa Dome was viciously stabbed 32 times simply for ending a relationship. It's a disturbing trend known as breakup violence. I'm Troy Roberts. Some of the images you'll see tonight are tough to look at, but Melissa wants you to see them. With violence against women dominating the headlines, she says we can't afford to turn away. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty.

Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery

Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products.

Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. It was a Tuesday morning, approximately 3.18 a.m. I was dispatched to a 911 call of a female that was stabbed. She's laying in the street, dead. I watched him kill her. Oh, my God. As I came around the west side of the park,

I saw something moving on the side of the road in the grass. And as I got closer, I realized it was a female, and she was screaming for help. And she was reaching up to me, begging me to help her. When I first saw Melissa, she was covered in blood. To this day, I've never seen anyone injured so badly as she was. I honestly didn't believe Melissa would survive.

I asked her who did this to her. And initially, I thought she said, Robbie Merton. So I repeated back to her, Robbie Merton. And she said Robbie Merton so I repeated back to her Robbie Merton and she said no finally she says B

Burton and I spelled it back to her B-U-R-T-O-N and she said yes and it was just the relief on her face that I'd finally gotten what it was she was trying to say to me. She told me Robert Burton was her ex-boyfriend. As Melissa was giving me the information regarding Robert Burton's appearance and what he was

driving, I was giving a bolo or be on the lookout on the radio to other officers that were in the area. It was my intention for other officers to hopefully be able to locate him, but also to let them know that he's definitely armed, he's definitely dangerous, he has the ability to kill. He's definitely armed. He's definitely dangerous. He has the ability to kill. I asked Melissa, what did he stab you with?

A small knife, a large knife? She said, both. When she said that to me, it just gave me chills. I don't know, I just felt so bad for her. When I got to Melissa's side, I kneeled down. She looked at me, and she grabbed my arm, and she said, Help me, I'm dying. The look in her eye was pure terror, and it's a look I'll never forget. She looked at me and she grabbed my arm and she said, Help me, I'm dying.

The look in her eye was pure terror. And it's a look I'll never forget. She had multiple teeth knocked out. She had lacerations to the left side of her face. She had long blonde hair and it was absolutely drenched, soaked in blood, which made it very difficult to actually see the wounds. So I had to go more hands on. I was feeling her head and actually you could feel where the knife penetrated her skull, where your fingertips would actually slide in to where the knife stabbed her. Our biggest concern

was her blood loss. We can control the blood that we see, but it's the bleeding that we don't see that's going to kill her. We knew she needed to get to a trauma center and get to a trauma center quickly, so I called for a helicopter. So while I continued patient care on scene, Melissa's awake, she's alert, which is amazing. Her will to survive was strong.

The defense wounds on both arms were just very, very traumatic. Both arms were basically butchered. You know, she put up one hell of a fight. I was awakened by the Clearwater Police Department yelling, Clearwater Police Department yelling, Clearwater Police, and banging frantically on my door. Policeman asked me if I was Joanne Dome, and I said yes. And he said, your daughter's been stabbed.

He said, hurry up, I want to take you to her. He hurried me across the yard, and then I realized he wanted me to see her before she died. I saw her slippers, and I'm like, she obviously ran out of them. They were several feet apart, and I said, oh, she just got those for Christmas. As I approached the scene, I passed a police car, and then we went around the crime tape, and then I went under it, and they were putting Melissa in an amulet.

And I started to get into the amulets, and they said, Mom stays out. And I was devastated. So I just kept saying, Please, God, don't take my girl. Don't take my girl. Once we were inside the ambulance, Melissa said, I feel tired and I need to go to sleep. I felt like she was giving up, like she had given me everything she could give me,

and she was done. Usually with a person that has been stabbed that many times, you don't think that they are going to make it. But as the helicopter was lifting off that night, I had this crazy little feeling in my head that I would see Melissa again. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin.

It just happens to all of them. that we're still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely, Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. As a kid growing up in Chicago,

there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder early and ad free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. My brother came on the phone and said

Michelle, Melissa has been stabbed and it just doesn't look good. I literally collapsed. I couldn't gather myself. I had to also think about, what am I going to bring? Am I packing for my sister's funeral? Or am I just bringing clothes for the hospital?

I had to sit there with an empty bag in my hand staring at my clothes, telling myself, do not pack anything black. When Melissa showed up to our trauma center here in St. Petersburg. She was dying before our eyes. And without a rapid intervention, it would be over quick. So the moment she hit the door, we started resuscitation, we started CPR, we started replacing her blood volume. And then our next point of attack was to stop the bleeding. Melissa died twice in our emergency room, and each time we were able to get her back,

and I wasn't giving up, and she wasn't giving up, and so if she wasn't going to give up, our team wasn't going to give up. and she wasn't giving up, and so if she wasn't going to give up, our team wasn't going to give up. After three hours of ongoing resuscitation, she squeezed my hand and survived this injury. On my way back to the police station that morning, I learned that they had located Robert Burton in Pasco County. I think he had made up his mind that he was going to kill himself.

Mr. Burton's vehicle was found crashed into the side of a building. He was in the vehicle, slumped over the wheel. He was found to have ingested sleeping pills. Mr. Burton was unresponsive and was taken to Bayonet Point Hospital. Approximately two days after this incident, Mr. Burton was lucid enough in the hospital to be able to make a statement.

Okay, Robert, do you know why you're here? At which time he confessed to us what happened. Yes, I have a son. I remember when I woke up in the hospital and I remember just thinking, I'm alive. And I was just so relieved and thankful to be alive. I motioned like, someone give me a pen. And I wrote, dead, alive, or jail.

I just was still so scared if he could come through the door. We told her that he was in custody, that he was charged, and that he was going to go through the court system and we were going to follow through all the way. I asked them, did you tell them that I was alive? And they said, yeah, we're the ones that told them. I was like, what did he say? What did he do? And he looked at me and said, he really had nothing to say.

And I'm like, nothing? She went through the story of her relationship with Mr. Burt, that basically she was all he had. When Robert and I first started dating, you know, I learned a lot about his past, and I felt very sympathetic for him. I mean, he had a rough childhood. He was always, you know always taken between grandma and mom. And once his mom got remarried, they had some children,

and he was kind of like the outcast. And he would always express that to me, of how he felt that he was kind of like the outsider of his family. I wanted him to be loved and accepted, and at my house he was. We would hang out every day. We were like inseparable. We were best friends. We did everything together really. I mean I loved him, he loved me. He would give me flowers a lot. He was very charming. When I started applying for colleges something changed. I graduated with 600 hours of volunteer work at the hospital because I wanted to be a nurse.

He just became very jealous of me and he didn't want me ever succeeding ahead of him. So he would put me down and call me names, stupid, dumb, and they would escalate into, you know, I was always a bitch. And I tried to get away, but he would threaten suicide if I was to, and he wanted me to stay. And I did. It then just progressively even got worse. One day in my room, Robert put his hands around my throat to strangle me, and eventually, finally, he let go. He told me that if I was to tell anyone,

he would kill me and kill my mom. I was so fearful and terrified that I remained quiet until one night in October 2011. I'll never forget it. 2011, I'll never forget it. He all of a sudden started punching me and pulling my hair. I just started running. I grabbed my phone, dialed 911, and I just kept running. You know, running, running, running.

running, running, running. Oh, come on, please. How much longer? Can you tell me where they are? And then all of a sudden it hit me that he knows I'm talking to the police. And he told me that if I was to tell anyone, he would kill me, he'd kill my mom. But I don't know where my house is.

I don't know where he is. So I turned around and started running back home. I can see him. I'm sorry? I don't know where he is. So I turned around and started running back home. And Robert catches me. And at that moment right then is when two police pulled up. Stop. Stop. No, I'm not a human. And at that moment right then is when two police pulled up. They're here. They told me basically, you know, we don't want to keep coming out here. The girl always goes back, and they said, we don't ever want to see you again.

I remember telling the officers, you've got to come and tell my mom with me. I was so ashamed of myself. The one person in the world I want to make proud is my mom. And how much am I letting her down right now? You know, I just kept this huge secret from her. And it was weighing on me for so long. I just, I hated it. I mean, it was horrible. Robert Burton was arrested for domestic battery that night. It was so good to just be the old me. I was in school full-time in college. I was always hanging out with friends,

and everything that he didn't want me to do, I wanted to do. One of my best friends from high school and I planned that we were going to go backpacking through Europe. And then for my 20th birthday, I celebrated by going skydiving. It's like everything was given back to me, and I thought, you know, everything was going good, and I had my life back, and then all of a sudden it was ripped right out from underneath me.

I hadn't seen Robert Burton in about three months when he began calling me over and over out of the blue. He woke me up in the middle of the night. And he said that he just wanted a hug. That's all he wanted. And I'm like, no, leave me alone. I have class. Like, seriously, stop. And he began to cry. He was saying, after everything we've been through over the last two years, you can't just give me a hug. It just seemed kind of pathetic, and I really just wanted to get it over with so I can go back to sleep. So I reluctantly agreed when I walked outside.

My gut was saying, this isn't right, but now I'm already out here. He sees me. I'm like, just let's get this over with. Like a blur, and I remember like pieces of it immediately stabbed me right here in the back of my shoulder, and then right here in the back of my shoulder, and then right here in the back of my neck. And the knife just kept coming down at me. And I remember hearing my skull crack over all of my... It just kept coming at my face. And then my mouth filled with blood.

Oh, my God. You know, he's going to kill me. This is a fight for my life. I have to scream. I have to run. I was losing blood everywhere. And I kept trying to, like, crawl away from him. You know, he was just so weak. I felt that I was going to die right there.

I remember seeing a girl. And I saw the phone in her hand. So I knew help's coming. This girl, my angel, whoever she is, you know, is going to call for help. I watched him kill her. He's a white male, about 225 pounds. You know, next thing I know, she was gone. Oh my God. Oh my God. He went and got a second knife, holding me down on the road, trying, you know, stabbing with a knife into my face. The look in his eyes was full evil.

My memory is kind of foggy here. And I look over, and Robert just drives away. I started to feel myself, like, slipping away. She's laying in the street dead. And so I just began to pray. I remember praying, I don't want my mom to walk out here. I just prayed over and over, just please don't let me die for my mom, for me.

And then my prayer had to change because I felt I really was not going to make it. So I prayed to God, please forgive me for my sins. Take me to heaven. The moment I was doing that, I saw a spotlight shine on me. I just felt like such a relief that help was there.

They put me in the ambulance, and it was so bright. Please, this is not heaven. This is the ambulance. And that's the last thing I remember. This is the ambulance. And that's the last thing I remember. It said Melissa's room. There was a picture of her on the board. But I didn't know who was laying in the bed.

Her face, I mean, normal-sized face. I didn't expect that. I wanted it to be my sister, but I wanted it to be the sister that I knew, not the sister that I was forced to look at. Just grabbed her little pinky, because that was all that was sticking out. I remember when my sister first came into the hospital room, so the first time she got to see me, she was singing Never Alone, and the whole room changed.

Everyone who loved me was there, and that's all that really mattered. I wasn't alone. And knowing I wasn't alone in this, it was what was vital in getting back on my feet. At this point, we had a lot of evidence against Mr. Burton. We had a Melissa statement. We lot of evidence against Mr. Burton. We had Melissa's statement. We had a confession from Mr. Burton. We did find Melissa's blood in the car.

This knife and this sheath were found at the scene. What we found in the car is a baseball bat, a hatchet. The baton here is that similar to what the police use. It's an expandable weapon. He might have brought all these weapons along with him to attack Melissa. With all the evidence and everything we had, it looked like Mr. Burton was going away for a long Welcome to Play It, a new podcast network featuring radio and TV personalities talking business, sports, tech, entertainment, and more. Play it at play.it.

This was the girl that walked outside that night. And this is what I looked like, and this is who I was. It was about day six or seven when I was moved out of the ICU into a hospital room on the trauma floor, and in this room there's a mirror. So I remember standing in front of the mirror and just crying. This is who I saw looking back at me, and it's not this girl. I couldn't smile.

Half my hair. I didn't have teeth. I had scars all over my face. I mean, I couldn't even barely walk. That's who this is. So it was hard to accept. And at that time, I couldn't accept it. I believe Melissa and I met for a very special purpose.

met for a very special purpose. I wanted to mentor and guide her through part of her journey that I knew she was going to face. I knew because I had lived through it myself. I was attacked in 2009 when I was 26 years old. I was separated from my husband Chris, who's a retired New York City detective. We had two sons together. Chris did not use a knife or a gun.

He used a hammer to bludgeon me in the head and then a candle and gasoline to set me on fire. I was burned over 80% of my body. It came to the point where I wanted to see what I looked like. Made my way to the mirror in the bathroom, and I sort of did that, put your hands on the sink, and look up into the mirror. I absolutely looked like a monster. And I just remember thinking that I would never look the same again.

There was a moment after that I said to myself, he had robbed me of what he robbed me of physically, but I was never going to let him rob me emotionally or mentally because that belonged to me and it didn't belong to him. And slowly but surely, I was able to accept who I am today. able to accept who I am today. Meeting Audrey, she was the first person I ever met that truly understood the internal and emotional damage that was done. Even though I survived this horrible attack, still internally I wasn't recovered. Melissa Hutton traveled through every chapter

that I had traveled through. And I think I was sent to her, and she was sent to me. And I needed to teach her about the next chapter, which was forgiveness. I have forgiven Chris for his monstrous actions, and I will continue to encourage others to forgive as well, which will include my two beautiful sons. Forgiveness wasn't the first choice I made, but it was the most important one because it allowed me to be free. I didn't think I could forgive him.

How do you forgive someone for stabbing me over and over, not stopping? I begged to him, I pleaded, I cried. I just begged anything to make him stop, and he wouldn't stop. I mean, how can you forgive someone like that? As a result of the attack, I had a stroke from all the loss of blood. Many doctors and therapists told me that I'd probably never walk by myself again. They told me that I might never be able to talk again. I was told that I will never be the student that I was before.

You know, I can't smile, but I'm getting this movement over here. Now look. I couldn't walk by myself, so they kept a belt around my waist. And this is actually the only picture I ever let anyone take. I just remember thinking, you have to get through this, and you have to show everyone that you can do it. And not only for them, I really had to show myself, too. And it's the first movement as of yesterday. Watch.

See it? I asked the doctor, do you think I will be able to go to Europe in May? And she looked me in the eyes and said, if you work really hard in therapy, you should be able to go. And I said, no, that's all I had to hear. Thank you. I'm good. I'm great. I'm going to work so hard, just like she told me to, and I'm going to Europe.

And that's what set the mood for my entire recovery, really. So one foot in front of the other, I learned really how to walk again. Three weeks after the attack, I walked out of the hospital, you know, on my own, no cane, no wheelchair. It was a Friday when I was going home, and I had classes all day on Tuesday and Thursday. So I said, okay, Mom, we're going to go on Tuesday. I didn't really know how I was going to do it, but I just loved school. I loved going to school. I loved, you know, I didn't want to let it stop me. It's just bottom line. I went from learning how to walk to walking across the stage of graduation all within the same year.

And I was chosen as the commencement speaker. Watching her deliver that speech was a very proud moment. The harder the journey, the more glorious the victory. You're just proud of this young woman who is really coming into her own. When the entire world seems to be against you, telling you you can't do it or don't even try, instead, listen to the voice inside you that whispers, yes, I can. I did make it here.

The trip changed my life. I remember being in Paris and staring at the Eiffel Tower, and it was glittering at night, it sparkles. And I was just crying, and my friend's like, why are you crying? It's so lame. And I'm like, I'm so happy. Like, how am I here? Do you realize that I was almost murdered,

and here I am in front of the Eiffel Tower. It really showed me that, you know, I can do anything. All I wanted to do was get on that stand in court and show them that I'm alive, here I am, I'm beautiful, and you didn't win. I'm alive, here I am, I'm beautiful, and you didn't win. The first time I had to face Robert Burton in court was at a hearing where I had to tell all the things

that happened before the attack to see if all of this information could be entered into the trial. I was so nervous going up there. And so I'm telling, you know, things that I've never told before, like the times that he put his hands around my throat, and he knew that I never told anyone these things. And he was staring me down. I was up on the stand, and he just stared at me. I mean, would not look away. It's like his eyes were burning a hole through me. I mean, he was really just staring me down,

and I remember thinking, I'm just going to look at him back. If he's going to look at me,, I'm just gonna look at him back. If he's gonna look at me, then I'm gonna look at him. So it was really like a moment that changed, you know, everything, really. I felt so empowered. Mr. Burton stayed in jail for almost two years while this went through the court system. At first, he tried to claim he was incompetent. That didn't work.

We were all out waiting for the trial to start. You know, the jury was being selected. And Robert went up to the stand, and he said, I can't go to trial. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I'm pleading guilty. You know, I can't do it. What? It was so shocking. I mean, it happened so fast. Like it was all done. So it was very obviously satisfying. I mean, I felt I was very happy, but it didn't feel like the end yet because I knew that he's still to be

sentenced. I'm like, okay, now I have to wait 60 days for sentencing, but I'm ready. I'm totally ready. I would have never thought ever, ever in a million years that, you know, on this night that, you know, totally changed my life. It was the most horrific thing, you know, anyone could have ever gone through would something, you know, beautiful come out of it. I was giving my first speech that I've ever given about my story. And right in front of me, there were two, you know, firefighters and Cameron was one of them. I was like, wow, this, you know, I can't believe, and Cameron was one of them. I was like, wow, I can't believe I'm looking at her right now, and she's doing as well

as she's doing. Totally dream come true. I mean, every girl loves firefighters, let alone the ones that saved me. I mean, it was seriously like a dream come true. I was so excited. Cameron's giving a hug to my mom, and the look on his face is so sincere. I just love it.

I mean, every time I look at it, I love it. The thought came back to me as the helicopter was leaving. I had that feeling that I was going to see her again. And the next thing I know, he was messaging me online, inviting me to dinner at the station. Oh, my God. I mean, I counted, like, every moment until that Tuesday at 6 o'clock. And you're telling Mom, like, we need to bring something.

I was like, let's make cupcakes, you know. And so we made cupcakes, and we said on them, thank you to our heroes. She couldn't stop laughing. She was giddy the whole night. So at that point, it made me like her even more. Cameron showed my mom how to ride around the station. I tried on his uniform and his hat and his big jacket. He let me sit in the truck. I tried on his uniform and his hat and his big jacket.

He let me sit in the truck and you know it was just like, I mean, I felt like my first crush all over again. You know we started talking and we realized we have a lot in common and we found out that we both enjoy shooting. And that was how he kind of you know asked me on our first date. And he said, you know, you and I should go shooting sometime. And I was like, hands down, I would love to go shooting with you, you know. And we've been shooting together ever since.

I will never, ever be defenseless again in my life. Under any circumstances, I'll be able to protect myself. Is that the bullseye? Yeah. Yes, it is. Oh, sweet. Finally, I've been hoping. Well done.

We went on another date the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and we've truly been inseparable ever since. I'm crazy in love with Melissa Dome. Is this really like this fairy tale that I think it might be? Never met anybody like her. To me, he's like Prince Charming. I would like to spend the rest of my life with her. I love him. I mean, I love him. At the sentencing, they said, it's time for victim impact statements. And now this was my moment.

My time to let Robert know and the judge know everything you really put me through. All right, we'll hear from Ms. Doan. And this was finally my moment to basically, you know, everything that I went through. Here it is. Your Honor, I pleaded and begged for Robert to stop. I didn't get the chance to walk away with 10 or 20 stabs, but only until he believed I was finally dead and that my life was taken. I believe the only justice in return is a life sentence. I only came there with

one thing to tell Robert directly, and the only thing I felt that he ever even deserved to know or anything was I came there to forgive him. When you choose to forgive those who hurt you, you forever take away their power. And that's what I'm doing today. Father, I forgive you for coming to my house and attempting to murder me. I had to show him that you truly have no hold on me. And when I walk out of this courtroom, I'm letting go of you.

I'm letting go of the memories of you. I'm letting go of the pain. I'm letting go of the hatred.'m letting go of the memories of you, I'm letting go of the pain, I'm letting go of the hatred, everything. You can keep it all. And I remember the judge saying to him, what drove you that night to go to her house and do what you did. We'll never leave you, and it's part of you. And I'm giving you the maximum sentence.

I'm sentencing you to life in prison. I had Cameron on one hand and my mom on the other hand and everyone else around me, and I'm walking out of here with my life back. I remember looking at him one more time and they're doing his fingerprints and I watched the door close and I opened the next one and I walked out it's been a year and a half since Robert Burton was sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

And since then, my life has completely changed. He had a temper that anything would set him off. I should have known them as the warning signs. I work as a full-time advocate at Julie Weintraub's Hands Across the Bay. I'm so proud of you. And what we are most passionate about is teen dating violence prevention and awareness and domestic violence. No one knew. I mean, no one knew.

He told me that if I was ever telling anyone, you know, after the few times he put his hands on me, he would kill me. There is help out there and you can get through it and there is life after abuse. There's a wonderful life there for you. Are you in a safe place right now? Can you talk? There's no way your abuser is going to come home anytime soon? It's my purpose. I'm living out my purpose every day that I walk into work.

I never want another girl to go through what I went through. Physically, I'm still making progress in my recovery. They've taken nerves from my leg and they're in my face now growing. So in a couple months, they're actually going to take muscle from my leg and connect it to the nerve. So whatever this side does, this side will also do. The goal is that I'll have a full smile again. There's been a lot of great things that have happened in my life, but nothing quite like what happened on May 11, 2015.

I was asked to throw the first pitch for the Rays game on behalf of my work as an advocate. I immediately called Cameron and told him that I was invited to throw out the first pitch. There you go. Got it. And I was like, well, we're really gonna have to practice because I don't know anything about,

you know, throwing a baseball really. A lot of my friends and family were here to watch me throw out the first pitch. They told me to go down to the pitcher's mound. I'm nervous. I got some butterflies. And I'm waving and just waiting for the ball, really. And then they said, here is first responder. First responder and now boyfriend, Cameron Hill. And I was like, oh, this is first responder and now boyfriend Cameron Hill.

And I was like, oh, this is so sweet. They're having Cameron bring me the ball. I was really nervous, really nervous. I wanted to make sure that everything went as planned. And as soon as he got right next to me, he handed me the baseball. And he had wrote on the baseball, will you marry me? That's when I got on one knee and proposed to her. Melissa, will you marry me?

Oh, my God, yes. Is this for real? Like, are you really doing this? I was a total wreck. I almost think I could have fainted. I was so surprised. I wanted to make it special for her. I figured that that was a pretty special way to do it. I can't believe he put all that planning in, and it showed the whole world how much he loves me.

It just probably was the best moment of my whole life, the happiest moment of my whole life. Oh, my God. And the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. I can't wait. You think your whole life about getting married and meeting the love of your life and having a future. It's just, I couldn't ask for anything better. I love you very much. I love you very much. I love you, babe.

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