LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – One in three Texans will suffer domestic violence in their lifetime, but a Lubbock prosecutor says most accusers are unwilling to speak out against their abusers.
She discussed the dangerous cycle that can leave victims feeling trapped and the tools available to help set them free.
Amy Tidwell is one of those survivors who has broken out of that cycle. She met Courtney Gage in 2019, and seven weeks later they were engaged. With two young girls, she had reservations about moving in with him months later.
“But, he has his way of either throwing a fit and making you feel guilty or like a terrible person and anyway we ended up, we did move in with him,” Tidwell said.
She said the physical abuse began only two weeks later.
“He beat the crap out of me on our wedding night. He strangled me in the bathroom floor, shoved me up against the cabinet. He threw me in the bathtub that was full of water. He hit me upside the head several times,” Tidwell said.
Tidwell said the abuse became cyclical, but shame and the thought of breaking up her family kept her in the relationship.
“With abuse it’s not just physical, there’s a psychological aspect to it. There’s also a phenomenon called trauma bonding. That abuse, that’s what it does to your brain. It kind of changes the chemicals and it almost makes it feel like an addiction,” she said.
Traci Wiseley, an assistant district attorney for Lubbock, said that psychological component makes domestic violence cases unique.
“Abusive relationships are about control, manipulation, emotional manipulation, isolation, might be financial dependence. It might legitimately be fear. You know, he might have abused, physically abused them to the point where they really do think he will kill them if they try to leave, which is a possibility or they believe it’s a possibility,” Wiseley said.
Steven Garcia with Women’s Protective Services of Lubbock calls domestic violence a black eye on the area. The agency serves 12 counties, making up about 2 percent of the state’s population. But 13 percent of the domestic violence cases reported statewide are from the South Plains.
Wiseley said the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office sees these cases every week, but most victims are reluctant to testify.
“Most victims of crime very much want to work with law enforcement. They want justice. They are willing to talk to us. Domestic violence victims sometimes will be in that situation, but very often they are still in an active relationship with their abuser or they share children with their abuser,” she said. “They’re not quite ready to give up on that. They’re not quite ready to get out of the relationship.”
The county tries to keep accusers safe through the prosecution process through protective orders or strict bond conditions placed on the offender.
“We will walk a victim through the process, as well. If she is willing to work with us and willing to come testify, we will walk her through what we expect the questions to be. We have court investigators that can walk her to and from her vehicle. Courthouse security, obviously, is available. So we do try to make it as safe as possible,” Wiseley said.
While pending criminal charges are not required to get a protective order, Wiseley said victims must prove abuse happened. Documentation of alleged instances can become crucial evidence.
“Ideally, you’re calling the police every single time, we know that doesn’t happen. But if something happens and a bruise develops, if you can document that, document the date. Even keep your own notes, your own journals, keep your own medical records, be honest with your healthcare providers, all of those kinds of things,” Wiseley said.
The DA’s office encourages victims to testify.
“Abuse never gets better. I’m not going to say people can’t change but abusers tend not to. And so, once you start seeing those red flags, the first time it get’s physically violent, that’s when you need to leave,” Wiseley said.
Tidwell told herself she would leave “the next time.” In late 2020, she said Gage choke-slammed her and gave her a concussion. She reported it to law enforcement the next day.
“I finally realized that the pain I was feeling and the idea of leaving, I was going to keep going through that over and over again until I left for good,” she said.
In April 2022, Gage entered a guilty plea for continuous violence against the family. He was placed on eight years of community supervision. In January though, a new accuser, Ashley Easley, came forward.
“I was at home and Courtney was strangling me and I was, I thought that I was gonna die,” Easley said.
After three victims testified in court, including Tidwell and Easley, Gage was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating his community supervision.
“We’re sitting there waiting for justice to finally be served, he gets sentenced to seven years in prison and it’s a relief. And then not 15 minutes later, he walked out of that courtroom just like we did,” Tidwell said.
Gage was released on an appeal bond. One month ago, he was arrested again and charged for a separate assault.
Both women claim the justice system has not done everything it can to protect them. KCBD will have more coverage of those claims and the recent result from a Terry County judge in Tidwell’s case soon.
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