Oh, God. Okay.
Do I have to touch them?
Yeah.
I -- I want to see.
Ooh.
Can you guys see that? There it is.
This person, you can see what he's thinking.
You know he's a monster, you know he's evil.
You can tell by his facial expression.
I feel like until this man is dead, I'm not free of him, ever.
Even though I'm strong now,
him looking at me makes me feel like that little girl.
I just feel, um...
I don't feel strong anymore.
And I kind of want to stare at
these pictures until I don't feel that way.
I just want to look at him and tell him to go to hell,
you're a piece of trash.
Just because you're miserable
didn't give you the right to ruin other people's lives.
You know what?
The longer I look at him, he's not scary.
This picture, he looks like a little punk.
And in this picture, he looks like a little punk
trying to pretend he's not a little punk.
So, to be honest, thank you for showing me these.
This is gonna help me, I think.
Yeah, I'm done.
I'm not scared of him anymore.
What can he do?
I feel empowered holding these pictures now.
Can I rip these up?
He's gone. He's just -- He's gone, he's gone.
He's gone. He's gone. And...
if I was allowed to set a fire right here,
I would, um, because I feel like ripping him up,
you can still see him -- look?
See, I'm trying to rip him up, and he's still looking at me.
Monster.
Evil. Demon.
Goodbye.
If you never believed in evil before, and you hear about this,
you have to believe in it now.
[The Paper Chase's "What's So Amazing About Grace?" plays]
[strings continue playing sinister tune]
[static crackling]
[knock at door] [creaking]
[banging on door]
[creaking]
[water dripping]
[banging on door] [creaking]
[sinister chord strikes]
I was in my early 20s, just got out of a bad relationship,
when a good friend of mine told me she had the perfect
guy for me and that I just couldn't miss this opportunity
to meet him.
And the guy that she introduced me to was
Patrick Fowler.
She was like, "He's just such a good guy.
"You're never gonna find another guy like this."
And I'm like, "Well how do you know him?"
"Oh, he's my ex," and I'm like,
"Well, if he's so great, why aren't you with him?"
We were just growing different ways.
"We were young, and there's just too much -- too much history
"there, but he's a great dad,
he's a great guy, and I really think you two would get along."
I promise you're gonna love him.
She wouldn't give up.
And I just thought at the time
that she was just being a friend looking out for me.
But I think in actuality, she knew for a fact he was abusive,
knew for a fact he was crazy.
She used me to get away from him.
But I didn't really know that part at the time.
So when I met him, he lived up to everything she said.
He's like, "So tell me about yourself,
you know, I heard you have kids," and just asked all
the right questions.
I know you gotta get back to your kid,
but I'm really looking forward to getting to know you
a lot better.
CHRISTINA: I asked the same questions,
but it was almost like Patrick
avoided answering questions specific to him.
I just feel like I talked about me all night.
- I want to know more about you. - I'm just boring.
CHRISTINA: He would always kind of, "Well this is about you,
you're important, you can learn about me later."
Well, maybe I can dig a little something out of you.
So that means I get to see you again?
I just feel like he didn't want me to know him.
He wanted to know me, because then it would be easier to
manipulate and control like evil people do,
but at the time, I did not view it that way.
I felt loved and seen and beautiful and
appreciated and the center of his attention, and that's what,
in the moment, I thought was the perfect man.
I don't like to visualize him.
I almost started crying.
I seen his face, and it's just
like... ooh, scared the crap out of me. Oh!
[exhales heavily]
I don't talk about him a lot,
so...
us talking is just, like, bringing stuff back.
[sniffles] [exhales heavily]
Sorry. I didn't expect this.
I think it triggers me, because I
just wish I would have said no.
My childhood was really rough.
I didn't have good family.
I would have done anything to get out of there.
But I had no family to turn to,
no friends to turn to, no savings account.
And it was just me as a single mom with my special needs son.
When I met Patrick, he was like, "Well,
why don't you just come move in with me?"
He lived with his mom.
And when I spoke with her about it, I let her know that
my plan was to save money as
quick as possible and get out of there,
made very clear that I was just there to save up,
get on my feet, and get on out.
But once I started living there,
it was impossible to save money at all.
We would just be normal, sitting there,
having a good day, nice summer day,
windows open -- my son, his two daughters, and his stepdaughter.
- I'm bored. - You bored, huh?
All of a sudden, he goes, say, "Hey, you guys,
"I have a great idea.
Why don't we go to Chuck E. Cheese?"
- Who wants to go? - Me!
Hang on a minute.
We had $40 to our name.
Four kids and two adults -- This is expensive.
I'm sorry, guys, not today.
So I'd be like, "No, we can't do that."
And the kids, all of a sudden, who were just having
a great day, now they're mad,
because they want to go to Chuck E. Cheese,
and now it's all on me again.
Patrick would get the kids to beg me.
"You never let us do anything."
And I felt like he did it because he knew
that if I told the kids no, I'd feel guilty, so...
We ended up going. - Please?
Okay, go get ready.
But every time we did something, it was my money.
I paid for it -- Going out to eat -- my money.
Going to the museum -- my money. Swimming -- my money.
What the hell?
You know I'm trying to save up for my own place.
CHRISTINA: Patrick convinced me to do so many things with
the money that I would have never done that
I just -- I could never get that
dollar amount saved up to get out, ever.
Lighten up, okay? You need to have some fun.
CHRISTINA: At the time, I just thought it was playful.
I just thought, oh, that's what dads do when you're
in a relationship and you have kids.
He wants to spend the money, but he wants to spend it on
the kids. That's so sweet.
That's such a great attribute to have.
That's such a good dad.
Now I know it was a part of his manipulation.
Looking back, I definitely feel like this was Patrick's way
of taking control of my finances, because he knew
I wanted out of that house, and he knew the only
thing keeping me there was the finances.
When I met his sister-in-law and his brother came to town,
that was the very first time that
I started noticing his just disdain for women.
He had a brother that lived out of town -- him, his wife,
and they had one roommate.
They were gonna be coming to visit.
So we're sitting there watching TV in the living room.
His brother's wife starts complaining, her back hurts.
So she sits down on the floor next to the roommate.
She was sitting Indian-style on the floor,
and the roommate of his brother's wife
laid his head in her lap.
Patrick flipped out.
You whore! What the hell are you doing?
Patrick jumped up, and the first thing he said was,
"Get the [bleep] out of my mom's house, you whore."
You gonna let him touch you like that?
CHRISTINA: She's like, "What is your problem, Patrick?"
And she's like, "You're not gonna talk to me like that.
You will respect me. I am the wife of your brother."
Okay, you need to watch who you're talking to like that.
Then Patrick's like, "I knew you were no good.
"You tricked my brother into marrying you.
You took my brother away from me, you raggedy bitch."
And he looked like the devil.
His eyes were just piercing.
All I could see was his teeth and his nostrils
snarling and spit flying out of his mouth.
Patrick looks right at his brother and says, "Your wife is
a whore, and I'm gonna whoop her ass."
You gonna let this bitch whore disrespect you in Mama's house
like that? - Settle down.
His brother gets in his face and tells him,
"You ain't doing nothing to my wife."
She playing you. You know she a whore.
CHRISTINA: That made me feel extremely uneasy.
I was baffled and in shock, because I had
never seen him act like that before.
I'm -- I'm so, so sorry.
At the time, I felt like Patrick was just acting
like this out of jealousy like a little kid.
Looking back, Patrick views women as property.
When me and Patrick first got together,
he was very touchy feely and endearing, holding my hand.
I just thought he was affectionate.
But as time went on, I no longer seen it as affectionate.
I seen it as an obsession.
In bed at night,
when we lay down to go to sleep,
he'd wrap his arms around me and a leg.
It went from an enduring cuddle to almost
a suffocating hold.
If I moved,
he'd wake up and squeeze me so tight, and I'd say,
"You're hurting me," and he'd wake up
a little bit, loosen it up, "Where are you going?"
- What's the problem? - I have to go the bathroom.
Nah, you're good.
He would literally tell me I was not allowed to get up
and go pee, so I wiggled
out of his arms, and I went pee, and when I came back in there,
he's sitting up.
"Where have you been?
Um, you've been gone for hours," I'm like "No, I've been gone
"for, like, three whole minutes.
I peed, I washed my hands, and I came back."
I swear, these bitches all the same.
And then all of a sudden, "whore" started coming out.
"Whore, whore," and he would just repeat it.
"You're all bitches and whores."
I was in a complete state of shock.
That was the first time I've ever
heard him say anything, like, derogatory towards me.
Did you just call me a whore?
When I got upset with him, and he seen I was upset,
he would, "Oh, I'm so sorry,
"I'm just not used to being in a relationship.
"I just love you so much.
I need to make sure you're okay at all times."
And he held me again.
I could not sleep for the rest of that night.
I felt like I was in a full blown panic and anxiety attack
for the next two days -- He wasn't holding me to hold
me anymore -- Patrick was now holding me to confine me.
Things just started getting eerie.
That's the way that I describe it.
I wasn't allowed to be alone at all.
If I went to take out the trash,
he was in the window, staring at me eerily.
I wasn't allowed to sit down at
the table and eat a meal without holding his hand.
I get up to go to the bathroom.
It's, "Where are you going?" That's not normal.
I felt Patrick was definitely unreasonably obsessed
with me, and, um, I didn't understand why.
One time, I wanted to wind down like most women do
in a hot bath.
I'm laying in the bathtub, enjoying myself.
I got my, you know, candles lit, thinking I'm
finally alone.
And I look at the doorway, and I see, like, feet,
that shadow of the two feet.
So I'm like, "Who is that?"
No response. The kids are gone.
It's late. Everybody's sleeping, so
that has to be Patrick.
Patrick. Patrick, is that you?
And it gave me this eerie feeling.
Patrick, I can see you, stop.
CHRISTINA: Still see the pacing under the crack of the door with
the light shining under, and I'm like,
"Who is that?" No response.
I get up, I put on a towel, I open the door.
He's standing there.
Jesus. What are you doing?
Aren't you finished yet?
He's like, "Why are you taking so long?"
I said, "I just got in here.
"Why are you standing here?
"You've been standing there for
like six minutes not answering me."
He just kept staring at me, and I'm like, "Okay, well,
"I'll be out there in a few minutes.
I'm gonna finish taking this bath."
And I just shut the door in his face.
I'll be done in a little while.
I finished taking my bath.
He just grabs me by the back of
my head and starts kissing me, really rough.
He rips my towel down,
and he had sex with me.
He raped me,
and this is the first time I've ever...
said that out loud.
Patrick raped me.
From that moment on, I was afraid of that man.
I felt that Patrick, he now seen me as his belonging.
But I stayed, because I felt trapped.
I had nowhere to go.
I have no family, no money, nowhere to go.
What am I supposed to do?
And I know that can be hard to understand
from people that have never went through this before,
and all I can say to you is be grateful instead of judgmental.
You don't have to understand me.
Just respect what I'm saying and don't down me for it.
[phone buzzing]
I get a random phone call.
Hello?
And I don't recognize the number.
But I answered it anyway, and there was a lady on the other
end, and she asked for me by name, and that freaked me out.
Yes, this is she.
I said, "Who is this?"
She said, "This is Mr. Fowler's probation officer.
Do you have a few moments to talk?"
Probation. Probation for what?
I was told by the probation officer that Patrick had failed
to register on the sex offender registry,
which I didn't even know he needed to do that, because he
had sexually assaulted a minor or child under the age of 16.
I went in complete shock.
And the first thing I said is, "What are you talking about?"
She said, "Do you have children?"
I said, "Yes, I do."
She told me right then and there that
I had to come in and meet her,
that Patrick wasn't allowed around children.
And then she let me know, he just got out of jail.
He was incarcerated this last time
for domestic violence on his ex.
My whole world kind of just crumbled, this was my friend,
and she told me he was never abusive,
and I just felt like a knife through the heart,
like I felt so unbelievably betrayed by this girl.
Goodbye.
I got played from the very beginning.
I was so mad that I kinda just hung up on her,
and I went up to him,
and I said, "You're on probation?"
Patrick, why is there a probation officer
calling me, saying you're a sex offender?
CHRISTINA: Patrick told me that it wasn't like they were making it seem.
He was a teenager, too, it was
a girl in the neighborhood that had a crush on him.
She lied to him about his age, and he thought she was of age,
and the girl came on to him
and then said that she lied and said his hands
were down her pants, so he basically was the victim.
The world was against him. He didn't do anything wrong.
Gonna believe that probation officer over me?
Patrick's probation officer said that she needed to,
for me and him to come out to the probation office.
He tried to intimidate me.
Um, he got in my face, I better say what I'm told,
I better do what I'm told, or -- he was like,
"Or you'll be sorry."
I mean it. I swear, you better not make things worse.
The light and life was out of his eyes.
He just seemed like a different person.
I didn't even do anything.
- All I did was-- - Shut up!
CHRISTINA: I had an opportunity again to maybe escape,
but he scared me out of taking it.
He would whisper in my ear, "Say one thing I dare you."
That's a threat.
So I said nothing.
I went in there, and I just lied.
That night, I had just had enough.
I didn't want to sleep being held down that night.
I wanted to get away from him, and I was gonna make
an attempt finally.
My son's at a friend's house.
I packed up a bag, and he's like, "You ain't going nowhere."
And I just looked at him.
I'm like, "Okay, we'll see."
I don't think he thought I would leave.
And then all of a sudden...
[gasps]
Snatches me up and carries me off.
I'm screaming for people to help me.
Help! Someone help me!
CHRISTINA: But we were in a horrible neighborhood where
you see stuff like that every day.
Please let me go!
And the community's approach is to not get involved.
No. No.
It was petrifying -- In that moment,
I just felt like I'm nothing.
Like I am absolutely nothing.
No, no, please.
CHRISTINA: He didn't say one word.
He didn't look at me,
he didn't speak to me, anything, he just drug me back to
the house, and then when we got there,
he put me in the bedroom... - No!
and wouldn't let me leave.
He put a chair in front of the door
and told me, "You ain't going anywhere anyway."
That night was a game changer, because that was
the first time that I didn't just feel like
I couldn't leave.
I knew for a fact, I can't leave.
I did feel like Patrick was actually to the point
where he was going to --
Something was gonna happen really soon.
I didn't know when or what or how.
I didn't know the extent of it.
I just knew it was gonna be something life-altering for me.
And it wasn't gonna be good.
So one day, my son was in the bedroom.
He's playing with a handheld video game, and Patrick keeps
telling him, "Put it down. It's time to eat. Put it down.
It's time to eat." - Put the game down.
It's time for breakfast. I said it's time to eat.
Just let me finish!
My son has autism, and when Patrick took the game away
and said it's breakfast time,
my son had a meltdown.
Give me the game!
Don't talk to him like that.
I snatched it back from Patrick and gave it to my son
and told him, "Don't you ever touch my son
or his stuff again."
He looked at me, he said, "You stupid bitch."
I'll talk to him however I want.
Next thing I know,
Patrick grabbed me by my throat,
picked me up in the air, and slammed me on the bed.
No.
CHRISTINA: I told him, "Don't hurt me.
"Don't do this, Patrick, don't do this.
You can choose not to be this man."
He raised his hand back, and he just punched me.
He held me down and punched me, closed fisted,
in my face, at least 10 to 12 times.
The last thing that I remember was
Patrick ran out the house and ran away.
I was kind of in and out of it,
and I got my phone, and I called my mom.
And next thing I knew, my mom was there
to get me and take me to the hospital.
The only thing that I could think of is, it's now or never.
This is my time to get out.
Patrick was on the run, at large.
Police couldn't find him.
They couldn't even find any leads.
They had no idea where to even look.
And he began to call me while I was in the hospital bed.
[phone buzzing]
At first it would be, "I just need to see you.
I just want you. I just can't live without you."
I'm like, "You know what? [Bleep] you. I'm done.
I'm away from you. Don't you ever call me again."
I don't want to see you again.
Patrick kept calling me, and I kept
saying no, and then it switched from that
to, well, I'm gonna kill you.
You're gonna do what?
Then he called me, and he'd be like,
"You know, it'd be a shame if something happened
to your mother" -- Click, hung up on me.
He knows where my mom lives.
My son is at my mom's house.
I just sat there crying. Then he called me again.
"So, have you decided that you're ready to talk now?"
And he's like, "I just need to see you
"one time, please. I'll do anything.
"I'll turn myself in if you just agree
to come and have one last conversation with me."
Okay, I'll come if it stops all of this.
All I could think about is, is this a trap?
Is he setting me up to where nobody will know where I am.
Nobody will be able to find me.
And he just said he was gonna kill me.
Is he just trying to lure me in?
And I just decided that with weighing my options,
I was unsafe either way,
and I was tired of the unknown.
The police are telling me they can't find him.
They have no leads.
I just wanted it to be over.
I wanted it to end.
I wanted the torment to end.
I couldn't live like this anymore.
He promised me if I communicated with him,
he would turn himself in.
He gave me the address.
I was petrified.
Every step I took,
it was like when you're pulling petals off a flower.
He loves me, he loves me not. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna live.
I'm gonna die. I'm gonna live.
My thought was, as soon as the door opened,
I was gonna get punched in the face or stabbed
and wake up, tied up somewhere.
But instead, when I opened the door, he hugged me
and started crying.
Christina. I'm sorry.
He wanted to make sure that we were still together.
I just felt like, let me let him get it out.
Let me let him get whatever he needs in his crazy head
so he will walk out this door and turn himself in.
Well, I think we can make it work.
But you made me a promise.
I definitely pretended we were good again.
I told him, I promised you I'd come and have a conversation
with you, and that you were supposed to turn yourself in.
Come on in. Let's talk about it.
And he was like, "The only way I'll turn myself in and I'll
believe that you're gonna wait for me is if you get pregnant."
You're not going nowhere until we talk this out.
He would lock the door and tell me
that I better not try to run.
He trapped me there for two straight days.
CHRISTINA: That night, he did not turn himself in.
He tried to get me pregnant that whole night.
I just felt disgusted with myself.
Then the next day,
he kissed me and hugged me,
and he walked into that police station.
When I went home, I scrubbed
my private areas until they went raw.
I took a Brillo pad, and I scrubbed,
and I just wanted to get him off me.
I felt like a piece of meat, and, um...
I stopped being intimate after that for a long time.
It made me feel disgusting.
And I think I'm having a panic attack,
because I all of a sudden can't breathe,
and it's freaking me out,
so I want to tell you instead
of trying to pretend to be strong
like you asked me to, because I can't breathe.
[gasping]
PRODUCER: Let's get some air.
Yeah, I can't breathe right now.
My apologies.
I can't breathe.
Yeah, please. I need...
Once I found out I wasn't pregnant,
I found a really nice house,
me and my son.
I just felt like -- like the sun was shining on us.
What I was being told from the victim witness
advocates and everybody else
was that he was going to be getting at least 5 to 10 years,
and then all of a sudden it was, "Oh,
"he took a plea deal.
"He's just gonna do these couple of years, and he's not
"getting a felony, and he's getting good time,
and he'll be -- He can have probation,"
and I'm like, I thought he'd be gone forever...
until the letters started coming.
One time, me and my son went to the zoo, and when we got home
from the zoo, my son likes to check the mail.
He grabs the mail out and brings it to me.
- Mom. - Thanks.
CHRISTINA: and I pick it up,
and it doesn't say Patrick's name on it.
Um, it was from a different inmate,
but I'm like, I don't know this person.
I opened it up, and the first thing it said was,
"I know what your house looks like.
I'm watching you, always watching."
And I flip it over, and then there's a drawing,
and I'm looking at it. I'm like, wait a minute.
This is my damn house.
He knows exactly where I live.
I've come to find out that it was an inmate
he was incarcerated with got released,
and he sent him to look for me.
It was just, like, his way of letting me know,
even when I'm in jail,
you are not safe for me.
[phone ringing]
I crumbled it up and threw it away
and tried to just pretend I'd never seen it.
[phone ringing]
But I started receiving letters.
I would get one once a week
for, like, two or three weeks, and then all of a sudden,
they were coming every other day,
and they did not stop.
[phone ringing]
Hello?
And then he started calling me,
and he would threaten me on the phone calls.
Patrick, is that you?
CHRISTINA: "Don't hang up this phone call.
You know I know where you are."
He started talking a lot again about babies
and marriage and said, "Okay,
you have to go and get your wedding dress."
I don't understand. Stop calling me!
He got mad and said, "You're going
to go look for a dress right now."
And I'm like, oh, crap, I need to get this done.
He's gonna send whoever to come get me.
And that's when my tail between my legs,
and I would just go do what I was told to do.
I just felt complete despair and devastation.
I knew for certain that if I didn't
play along, when he got out, I was dead.
Okay, I'll do it.
Hey, hon, can you get the salt and pepper?
That day, I was up in
the kitchen, about to cook my son some breakfast.
It was a beautiful day outside.
Turned some music on.
We were dancing around the kitchen.
He's helping me scramble eggs, and I hear a knock
at the side door. - Just a minute!
Can you get some plates?
I opened that door,
and I saw Patrick just standing there.
I felt like all the blood was rushing to my head.
I felt like I was gonna pass out.
He walked in, and it was very eerie and silent.
There were no words.
And we just stood there, staring at each other.
And we just stood there for a minute -- to me,
it felt like hours,
and then my whole body started shaking.
He put his arm around me, kissed me on the forehead,
and then he whispered in my ear, "Are you scared of me?"
And I feel like all the blood left my body,
like I must have been pale as a ghost.
I...
took a good deep breath, and I told him, "No,
I'm just so excited to see you."
Why your hands shaking?
I'm just surprised.
CHRISTINA: I didn't want him to know that I was scared.
I had to play along.
I had to play happy little housewife.
I was just making breakfast.
It made me want to die.
I'd rather been dead.
He wasn't even released an entire month
before things went bad.
I turned to alcohol.
Not proud of it at all.
I was drunk every day.
I'm in the kitchen, and I just started
slamming a couple shots, and he comes out there, and he sees me.
You getting drunk again?
CHRISTINA: And he walks up behind me, and he starts,
"You're a whore!"
And I just ignored him.
How many guys you' been with when I was locked up? Huh?
The next thing I know,
I'm on the ground.
[grunts]
He was squeezing my throat.
I'm punching him and trying to rip his hands
off of my throat, and I can't.
And I just kept telling him, "Please don't hurt me, baby.
I love you," and I didn't love him.
But I knew -- I felt like telling him that would calm him.
He finally stopped slamming me.
I slipped out,
and I ran to the living room, and he grabbed
the butcher knives.
I heard the drawer open, and I can --
I'll never forget this sound. Shhh! Ever.
It was so loud, because it was so quiet.
Then he comes in the living room,
and I'm just standing there,
begging him,
please don't do this.
Please don't hurt me. You love me.
Patrick. Stop.
Please, you don't want to do this.
You're the one making me do this.
But I'm not doing anything.
The next thing I know, he comes heavy with a knife.
He puts one to my throat in front of me.
So I'm here, he has me grabbed by the back of the head,
and the knife's here,
and he's looking at me, and he's telling me,
this is all your fault.
And then he says, "We all die tonight."
He turned me over right there, put me on my hands and knees.
One hand here, and he had a knife here.
He kissed on my neck, and he tells me, "You ready?"
"You ready?"
And I'm just sitting there thinking what do I do?
What do I do?
He kissed my ear, and he said, "I'll never not love you.
See you in the afterlife."
And he takes the knife.
I hear him go. [gasps]
I just shoved my body back as
hard as I could into his groin area.
It hurt him a little bit.
I slid out through his legs, and I just took off running.
I got a phone call, and when I answered it,
it was the district attorney's office,
and they were requesting me for to come
to an in-person meeting.
WOMAN: Thank you for coming in, Christina.
The first thing I heard is, "Okay. We'll cut to the chase.
"Patrick accepted a plea deal.
He got two years. That's it."
Are you out of your minds?
That's what my life is worth? Two years?
The shock -- bam, hit me.
I heard nothing else they said to me.
Charlie Brown.
Wha what? what? what? what? What? what? what? what?
I'm just looking around at all of them with disdain.
I didn't feel protected.
I felt like the last time he was incarcerated,
for the same thing, for abuse of me,
he was allowed to stalk me from behind bars.
I'm sorry, miss, but he'll do time,
and that's what we needed to make sure of.
I sat straight up,
and I leaned forward like this, and I looked them
dead in their eyes, and I told them,
"Remember me. Remember my face.
"Remember my name, and remember my son's smile,
"because you're releasing a monster.
"I've done all I can do except for be in the morgue.
"And you're gonna let him out?
"He will kill me.
"And if he can't find me -- Lord, have mercy
"on whatever poor soul he tricks into letting
"them in their life, because if he can't find and kill me,
he's going to kill somebody. He's obsessive."
You find me dead in a couple years,
it's gonna be your fault.
CHRISTINA: They promised me that
absolutely, when he would be getting released,
I would be notified.
There would be no surprises, no shock factor.
We promise you this, and...
[sighs] um...
didn't happen that way.
It was somewhere in March 2016.
Um, flowers blooming, grass cut smell, windows open.
It's bliss for me, and...
I turn on the TV, and I see him, and then it's all gone.
REPORTER: Fowler is accused of killing his girlfriend,
Jessica Ellenberger, and her daughter, Madyson Marshel.
He told police he and Jessie got into a fight.
He felt she disrespected him, so he stabbed her 26 times.
CHRISTINA: He had been out of prison for three weeks,
and within three weeks,
just like I told them, he will kill somebody within
30 days.
It was three weeks.
REPORTER: Mr. Fowler stated that while this
was going on, Miss Marshall was screaming for her mother.
That's when he stabbed Mady twice.
And I turn it up,
and it says, the first thing I heard,
brutally murdered in her home
alongside her daughter,
and then they put up a picture of...
Mady, um...
I was standing,
and I just dropped to my knees.
REPORTER: According to the criminal complaint,
Fowler told police he watched as each of them
took their last breath, and he thought of killing himself.
CHRISTINA: She was brutally stabbed over 20 times,
and I'm like, he did it, he did it,
he did it, it was him, he did it, and I couldn't stop.
I just -- he did it, he did it.
He killed her, he killed her.
Why did he kill her?
And I didn't even know he was released.
I'm thinking he's still in prison.
They didn't call me.
I didn't get the automated call.
I had no clue that I was in danger.
So then my thought is, oh, my God,
I could be dead right now if he would have found me.
But I moved.
REPORTER: Fowler used Mady's coloring books to start
the house on fire, and after setting it on fire,
he walked out the front door, taking Easter candy from
the house with him.
He killed her the same way he said he was gonna kill me.
He stabbed her to death.
He said he was gonna -- He said he was gonna stab
me to death, stab my son, and then kill himself.
So it was just like...
that should be me.
I should be dead. Not her.
If I could trade places with her, I would.
I would trade places with her in
a heartbeat so that her daughter could live.
I don't understand, I don't understand
how somebody can be such a monster.
Evil is real, and it's inside of people.
He's an animal.
MAN: We, the jury, find the defendant,
Patrick Fowler guilty.
REPORTER: Patrick Fowler gives a blank stare to the judge after
the guilty decision comes
just minutes after the jury reviews a video of Fowler
confessing to the crimes.
FOWLER: I grabbed a knife, and a monster came out of me.
What?
FOWLER: I grabbed a knife, and a monster came out of me.
Oh, my God, he said it.
I've never seen that footage.
He admitted he's a monster.
He said, "I let the monster come out."
That's exactly how I felt.
I felt like
he was fighting the monster,
and he let the monster win.
It was his choice to let the monster win.
I can't believe that.
Unbelievable.
I wish I would have seen that a long time ago
instead of being scared to watch all the footage.
It gives me some type of peace of mind,
because I know he knows what he did.
I know he knows that he's a monster.
Patrick still haunts me in my dreams.
I have nightmares once or twice a month.
I'm not gonna have nightmares about him anymore.
He admitted it.
That's my final step.
He admitted he's a monster,
and I'm really glad that I came here
and seen it, because I would have never seen it.
Patrick Fowler is a coward.
Patrick Fowler is a monster by choice,
and Patrick Fowler is exactly where he needs to be.