Domestic violence survivor hopes her story will save someone’s life


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For help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, (800) 799-7233 or the Ohio Domestic Violence Network at (800) 934-9840.

To learn more about when this episode will air, go to www.investigationdiscovery.com .

LIBERTY TWP.— It has been six years since Amy Jones-Rehling survived three attacks on her life by her ex-husband.

Since then, she has shared her story at local schools, domestic violence shelters and on television shows like “Oprah” and “20/20” with the hope of saving lives.

Before the end of the year, she will appear in “On the Case with Paula Zahn,” which returns for its third season at 10 p.m. Nov. 7 on the Investigation Discovery channel.

Jones-Rehling, who was then known as Amy Rezos, made headlines after her ex-husband, Christopher Rezos, 35, hid in her van July 26, 2004, and shot her in the back of the head twice as she drove to work. The couple was getting divorced, and he was out on bond after an attempt on her life July 2, when he beat her in a West Chester Twp. hotel room, tried to suffocate her with a pillow and drown her in a bathtub.

Later, he tried to hire a hit man from jail. Rezos is serving a 30-year prison sentence.

Jones-Rehling was instrumental in getting Amy’s Law approved. The mreasure requres domestic violence offenders to appear before a judge to consider the circumstances and risks of each individual case before bond is set.

While sharing her story has been therapeutic, Jones-Rehling said she’s focused on her two boys, 8 and 12, who have busy school and sports schedules, her new job and her new husband, Eric Rehling, whom she married last year after meeting him at Putters, a Liberty Twp. bar and restaurant.

“That night is when I told him everything that happened to me, and he still called me back,” she said.

Rehling said he found her “fun” and “interesting.”

“Everybody’s got drama, and everybody’s got issues,” he said.

Her old life is a fading memory, though the emotional scars remain, along with the bullet fragments in her head, nerve damage that causes shoulder issues and no vision in her left eye.

“If I curled up and hid away and cried about it, he’d still win,” she said. “It’s getting better over time, and actually talking about things and doing these shows has been very good for me.”

For years, she has encouraged women of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds to watch for the warning signs of domestic abuse, and each time she speaks out, she hopes she might save a life.

“Now, I’m getting to the point where I’m ready to move on,” she said.

Her life is a good kind of chaotic with soccer games, homework and family time. “I have the opportunity to do these things with my kids when I could have been 6-feet under the ground.”

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