ST. CLOUD, Minn — Anna Marie's Alliance, a domestic violence program in the St. Cloud area, offers support and a place to stay when people find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation.
KARE 11's Alicia Lewis met with a survivor of domestic abuse who was stabbed by her husband 22 times. We want to warn you, the details in her story are disturbing and graphic.
"This was my husband of 25 years," survivor Allison Murray said. "We had five kids together, I was deeply and madly in love and marriage meant a big deal to me. I wanted to work on my marriage and keep my marriage but looking back, when there started to be red flags, when things start to change, when feelings and people start to change... [there] was maybe something I should have done or tried."
Allison Murray knew her relationship with her husband changed when the abuse began, starting with verbal abuse and later shifting to physical abuse.
"I told him I didn't want to fight anymore and that's when he grabbed me and threw me up against the kitchen cupboards and slammed me onto the kitchen floor, and as he slammed me down on the floor he grabbed a knife from the drawer and started stabbing me with a knife," Allison said.
"He was stabbing me across my chest and across my face, arms and hands, and at that time we had three of our kids in the home. One of the children heard the noise and heard the fighting and she came and jumped on her dad's back and yelling at him to stop, stop and she was able to get the knife out of his hands," Allison said. "I told her to tell everyone how much I loved them because I knew that I could feel my life slipping away."
One of Allison's other children called 911 with paramedics on the scene in a matter of minutes.
Allison was rushed to the hospital and her now ex-husband, Gary Murray, was arrested that night and later convicted of 2nd-degree attempted murder and was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
While Allison was in the hospital, she was approached by a member of the nonprofit, Anna Marie's Alliance.
"I knew that if I needed to talk or call or get away, I knew that I had a place to go," Allison said.
Anna Marie's Alliance is a domestic violence program that offers emergency housing for families but also community support and help with the legal process.
The nonprofit's executive director, Charles Hempeck, knows it's hard to ask for help, but if something doesn't feel right — don't wait.
"It's okay to be scared," Hempeck said. "Just make a phone call, you don't even have to give your name. Just make a call, ask questions about what your options are, we'll talk through those options with you, we're happy to have those conversations."
Allison agrees. Call if you start seeing red flags.
"I want other women to find their inner peace and find their confidence and be able to succeed in life, because we only get one life and we gotta make the best of it," Allison said.
Anna Marie's Alliance is a nonprofit and is always looking for donations. They are also in the process of expanding their shelter to create more apartment-style units for families to stay in starting this spring.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse and need to talk, the national hotline number is 1-800-799-7233 OR you can text the word START to 88788 to get help anytime.
If it is ever an emergency please call 911.
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