SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On most days, you can find Katie Stager at the Syracuse Northeast Community Center. There, she’ll be laughing and doing what she loves – working with seniors. But seven years ago she was bound to a hospital bed after being stabbed more than 30 times.

Reporter: “You had said before your marriage and through your marriage it was abusive. Did he hit you? Was it violent then?

Stager: “Yeah, a lot of hitting, verbal, mental.”

Like a majority of domestically violent relationships, Katie’s started early.

“We were married for 25 [years] -- I started dating him when I was 13. We got married when I was 21, it was abusive then too,” said Stager.

  • Katie Stager's then-husband abused her for decades
  • He was eventually convicted of attempted murder
  • He could be be released in 2025 -- her only protection is a piece of paper
  • Stager believes he will come after her again

The two were married in 1987 and Katie called police in those first few years.

“And then after a while it just didn’t feel like the police were doing anything. You know, telling him to take a walk and cool off and telling me to leave and cool off- I wasn't the one who was mad. I wasn't the one hurting the person,” explained Stager.

She eventually stopped calling police, but the violence never stopped.

“The day I asked him to leave, my daughter called the police and the police did come that day,” said Stager.

In January of 2010, 23 years later, Katie’s husband attacked her at their home because she slept on the couch. Their daughter and their 3-year-old grandson were in the home. Police were called to the house.

“And they did say to me you know it’s either him or you have a three year old in the house, we have to call CPS. Instantly, there was no choice there,” said Stager. 

Katie had her husband removed from the home by police. The next month, after several unnerving incidents, Katie moved to a new place and sought an order of protection.

“The day I got the order of protection, I thought I felt safe that day. I thought that- if he knew that I had this paper- he would leave me alone. I would be okay,” explained Stager.

But Stager was far from okay.

“The next thing I remember was being lifted up,” described Stager.

On a hot night in July with their refrigerator on the fritz, Katie’s daughters called their father to the new house to bring ice.

“And which woke me up and I just thought he was fighting with me, I didn't know the whole time that I was being stabbed at all. I just thought he was beating me up over and over,” explained Stager.

Not wanting to see him, Katie went to the other side of the house until he left.

Later, she made a bed in her living room around one in the morning, trying to keep her and her grandson cool from the summer heat.

“Something made me say drop to the floor so I just dropped and at that time I could taste blood I was like, ‘he’s trying to kill me. Something’s definitely wrong; he’s trying to kill me.’ So I tried to pretend I was dead,” she said.

When the two fell asleep, her husband broke into her home and attacked her with a hunting knife. Their grandson remained sleeping on the floor during the attack.

“I heard him walk down the hallway and then he came back and kicked me in the head and then he walked back down the hallway and then my daughter came out of her room and she said, ‘Dad, what are you doing here?’ And he said, ‘I killed your mom, you might want to call the police,” described Stager.

Katie’s husband was caught and arrested later that morning. He faced several charges including breaking and entering, endangering the welfare of a child and attempted murder in the second. He accepted a plea and was convicted of attempted murder in the second. If granted parole, he will be out of jail in December of 2025.

Katie's order of protection is through 2027, but it didn't stop her abuser the first time.

“Sometimes I can't wrap my head around that one. He tried to kill me. He’s going to get out and try to do it again. I know it, I just know it,” said Stager.

Katie’s story is riddled with many of the complications that most domestic violent relationships face. She looked to the legal system for help and it couldn't protect her. To better understand how the current law works, we will talk to those who enforce the law.

Following the attack, Katie received assistance from Vera House and their advocacy program. The Syracuse-based domestic and sexual violence service agency provides shelter, advocacy, and counseling services for women, children and men. For more information about their services and programs you can visit their website. The agency provides 24 hour crisis and support lines at (315) 468-3260.