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Mar 26, 2008 10:05 pm US/Central
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Woman Set On Fire Speaks Out About Alleged Abuse
Victim Wants Other Women To Take Threats Of Violence From Partners Seriously
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A young woman doused with lighter fluid and set on fire woke recently from a two-month coma.
Keaira Washington spoke exclusively to CBS 2's Dana Kozlov Wednesday, reliving the nightmare in the hopes of bringing justice to the man she says is responsible.
Washington's family says her attack came after months of abuse by her now-former boyfriend.
She says she was still afraid when she came out of that coma. Now, she wants to tell people what happened, to warn others.
"I remember asking him, 'why did you do this to me… why did you do this ... look at me,'" Washington said.
She was burned so badly she had been in a coma for months. Now that she's awake, she says her family's nightmare is not over.
Washington is finally out of the hospital, but still fighting for her life. Eleven days ago, she woke from her coma to tell her family her burns were no accident and that her boyfriend, 21-year-old Damenique Traylor, set her on fire after a fight.
"Then he appeared with the lighter fluid and then he squirted me, lit the match. I caught on fire," Washington said.
Washington says Traylor then put her in the tub before driving her to the hospital, claming all the while she was hurt in a barbecuing accident.
"I remember asking him, 'why did you do this to me?'" Washington said. "He didn't say nothin'."
Traylor's now in jail. But Washington is not the only victim. After the January 15 incident and before Traylor's arrest, Washington's mother and six of her young siblings fled their South Side home in fear, only to find it vandalized and unlivable when they returned. They've been homeless ever since.
"I didn't know what he might do to me or my other children," said Washington's mother, Charolette Terry.
Those who work with domestic violence victims say Washington's story is tragic but, sadly, not unusual. A recent study estimates one in five teenagers and 1 in 3 adults will be in an abusive relationship.
"There has to be a change in the social norm, that involves everyone, of naming this violence as wrong," said Dawn Dalton of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network.
And, Washington says she would tell other women in her situation, "When he say he will kill you, he's tellin' the truth... he will hurt you. Be more safe so you don't want to end up like me."
Washington was released from the hospital Wednesday after being readmitted this week for an infection.
Traylor was charged with heinous battery. His bond was set at $3 million.
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