1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,960 Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is not intended for all 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:25,719 audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Oh Hello, and welcome the season ten, 3 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,000 episode two thirty seven of A Sword and Scale, a show that reveals 4 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:45,719 if the worst monsters are real. I hate doing this sort of thing because 5 00:00:45,719 --> 00:00:49,520 your adults and you know what you're getting into. But this is a true 6 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:55,920 crime show, and occasionally there are trigger warnings that are worthy of being stated. 7 00:00:57,039 --> 00:01:02,399 This is one of them. I don't think episode has affected me this 8 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:42,439 much ever. On this show, we tell stories of human brutality and the 9 00:01:42,599 --> 00:01:49,719 unbelievable crimes that evil people commit. We cover in great detail the horrible things 10 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,640 most people don't even want to talk about. We tell the stories of the 11 00:01:55,760 --> 00:02:04,040 victims who had the unfortunate bad luck crossing paths with a killer. Usually those 12 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:09,080 victims are no longer alive to share their tail. But today's episode is a 13 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:17,520 little different. Today we want you to meet Megan Rose Hyatt. Megan was 14 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:24,960 a victim, but today she's definitely a survivor. Megan today is very different 15 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,599 from the Megan she was seven years ago. The Megan who existed back then 16 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:38,439 was just like most middle class girls in America. She was open hearted, 17 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:45,360 bright and bubbly, a naive people pleaser. You might even see a bit 18 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:53,360 of yourself in young Megan. Today, Megan is on crutches, about to 19 00:02:53,439 --> 00:02:59,960 go into yet another surgery for her mutilated leg. She's missing an eye. 20 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:07,039 She's seen death and faced it head on, but she is one of the 21 00:03:07,159 --> 00:03:15,360 strongest people we've ever come across. What Meghan lived through is unfathomable. It's 22 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:22,599 also one of the most brutal cases of domestic violence that we've ever heard. 23 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:38,919 Today, Megan will tell you her story. My name is Megan Rose Highet 24 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:44,120 and I'm from Jacksonville, Florida. I have a twin brother named Tyler. 25 00:03:44,199 --> 00:03:47,240 I am the oldest by fifteen minutes. I feel like that needs to be 26 00:03:47,319 --> 00:03:52,360 noticed that I am the noticed. I lived in the same bedroom for twenty 27 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:58,639 one years in this quaint little house on Map Road, and my parents, 28 00:04:00,039 --> 00:04:08,000 Lissa and my dad Jimmy. They were just loving and encouraged us in everything. 29 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:15,560 They later divorced when we were twelve, and that was kind of traumatic, 30 00:04:15,399 --> 00:04:18,360 but we got through it. Me and my brother got through it. 31 00:04:19,319 --> 00:04:25,639 Despite the divorce. Megan had a beautiful childhood. It was everything I could 32 00:04:25,639 --> 00:04:30,279 have dreamed of in a childhood, like my parents, my church, my 33 00:04:30,439 --> 00:04:35,560 friends. Like looking back on my childhood, it was the best and I 34 00:04:36,439 --> 00:04:42,959 wish often that I could return to it. The Hyatt family were and still 35 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,879 are members of the Church of Latter day Saints, in other words, Mormons. 36 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:54,160 I still go to the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints used 37 00:04:54,199 --> 00:04:59,879 to be known as the Mormons. I feel like there are churches for every 38 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:01,240 bunny, and you had to find the one that fits you best. And 39 00:05:01,319 --> 00:05:08,920 this just happens to fit me and my family best. And my dad was 40 00:05:10,879 --> 00:05:16,399 He was a priesthood holder, and he loved everybody in the church. He 41 00:05:16,519 --> 00:05:21,040 actually got baptized when I was five years old, so he wasn't a member 42 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:28,319 until I was five years old. And I really admired that because he didn't 43 00:05:28,639 --> 00:05:32,639 My dad didn't ever do anything half ass, like he put in one hundred 44 00:05:32,639 --> 00:05:39,800 and twenty percent all the time, and when he decided to take on Christ 45 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:44,279 and God and have a faith, he did it right. He did it. 46 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:47,639 He went in one hundred and twenty percent. Megan and her father, 47 00:05:47,759 --> 00:05:54,879 Jimmy, were extremely close. She was a daddy's girl. Megan grew up 48 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:00,680 idolizing her father so much that she wanted to mirror his career footsteps. When 49 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,000 I was twelve, I wanted to be a civil engineer. My dad was 50 00:06:03,079 --> 00:06:08,240 a master of all traits. He worked in construction, specifically HVACT most of 51 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:15,759 my life, and I wanted so much to be in the construction world because 52 00:06:15,759 --> 00:06:17,879 my dad was in the construction world. And I'm like, I told my 53 00:06:17,959 --> 00:06:21,319 dad I wanted to work in construction, and he was like, no, 54 00:06:23,199 --> 00:06:26,319 until I came up with wanting to be a civil engineer, and he's like, 55 00:06:26,399 --> 00:06:30,519 that's perfect. Not only was Megan inspired by her father's ability to work 56 00:06:30,639 --> 00:06:35,240 with his hands and fix any mechanical issue that was thrown his way, but 57 00:06:35,319 --> 00:06:42,800 he also possessed a calmness and spirituality that she looked up to. He had 58 00:06:42,879 --> 00:06:48,680 thyroid cancer, and after that everything kind of changed. He was very calm. 59 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:54,680 He was very peaceful, but he never was very confrontational my whole life, 60 00:06:55,319 --> 00:07:01,040 Like he didn't like to get mad. And so when he became really 61 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:08,120 calm, like nothing bothered him after his diroid cancer was removed, like that 62 00:07:08,319 --> 00:07:13,959 was he just became wiser. I don't know if he was just kind of 63 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,199 having like a midlife crisis as far as like what he really wanted out of 64 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:23,160 life, and you know that cancers, him having cancer, you know, 65 00:07:23,279 --> 00:07:27,519 change that and open those opened his eyes and he realized, you know, 66 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,720 like why am I gonna get an attitude with anyone? It might He went 67 00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:39,000 from you know, like just normal like disagreements in life with other people too. 68 00:07:39,879 --> 00:07:45,560 He was just all encompassing and loving of everybody. Being freed from cancer 69 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:50,240 gave Jimmy a new respect for life that he instilled into his children and anyone 70 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:55,920 around him. He was a loving father who tried his best to teach his 71 00:07:56,079 --> 00:08:03,000 children moral values in dependence and spirit dual hope. He would would read the 72 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,000 scriptures every night and pray as a family. My dad really went all in. 73 00:08:07,319 --> 00:08:13,120 He didn't take he didn't take anything lightly. But that commitment that he 74 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:18,439 made, he really committed to it and really surrounded our family in Christ and 75 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,800 in Heavenly Father, and he really instilled faith in us so much so that 76 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:30,720 that is that is all that really matters to me, is my faith in 77 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,440 Hevenly Father and God. Now I wouldn't be where I am now if I 78 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:39,559 didn't have that faith. Being raised allD s Megan wasn't really allowed to date 79 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:45,519 as a teenager. By the time she was twenty, she had only dated 80 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:50,000 two guys, one of which broke her heart and left her quite scattered and 81 00:08:50,159 --> 00:08:56,799 broken. In June of twenty fourteen, Megan would meet the man who would 82 00:08:56,879 --> 00:09:03,080 change her life forever. And it all started with Plenty of Fish. I 83 00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:07,600 got on plenty of Fish and I was I was having a hoe phase. 84 00:09:07,919 --> 00:09:13,639 I was just I wanted free food, like I was going on dates. 85 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,799 I was. I was in a hoe phase, like just to be completely 86 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,679 honest, Like I looked back and I'm like, wow, I did a 87 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:24,639 lot in that time, and none of it was productive. Megan was on 88 00:09:24,759 --> 00:09:30,320 plenty of Fish having fun. She went on lots of dates and enjoyed being 89 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:37,399 courted. Then she met Gawayne Rush Wilson. Me and Rush talked on plenty 90 00:09:37,399 --> 00:09:43,759 of Fish. We message each other in the dating app for three weeks before 91 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:48,000 we even met, and I thought that was like, I thought that was 92 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,919 kind of cool. Like he wasn't in a rush. He really wanted to 93 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:56,120 get to know me. He really wanted he really cared about creating a relationship 94 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:01,080 with someone. And that's something I admired because that's not something I was doing, 95 00:10:01,159 --> 00:10:03,840 and that's not something these other guys on Plenty of Fish that I was 96 00:10:03,879 --> 00:10:09,480 messaging were doing. Megan was surprised and enamored with Rush's patience and flirting. 97 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:16,360 Plus he was older, and judging by his online pictures, he was just 98 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,639 her type. He was twenty seven when we met, we were six and 99 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:26,960 a half years apart, and he is over six feet tall, black, 100 00:10:26,159 --> 00:10:31,559 very slender, very like blinky, but still had a muscle. He was 101 00:10:31,639 --> 00:10:35,279 Jamaican, so we had a little accent, so they hadn't met in person 102 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:41,519 yet. Megan got to know Rush as they chatted, and everything she found 103 00:10:41,519 --> 00:10:48,039 out about his life and career impressed her. Rush was born in Jamaica and 104 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,120 he and his mom and his sisters migrated here when he was eight years old. 105 00:10:52,159 --> 00:10:56,919 They moved to New York City. They lived in the Bronx, and 106 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:05,159 then Rush wanted US citizenship, so he joined the military. His first station 107 00:11:05,919 --> 00:11:11,799 was Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, and his second station was n AS Jacks 108 00:11:11,399 --> 00:11:16,679 which is in Jacksonville, Florida. And he was in Jacksonville between those two 109 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,200 bases for seven years. He did go on a lot of deployments, but 110 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,559 he was mainly in the Jacksonville area. Growing up in a military town, 111 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:31,840 Megan loved a man in uniform who was this tall, dark, handsome helicopter 112 00:11:31,919 --> 00:11:37,759 mechanic who wanted to take her out on a date. Megan had high hopes 113 00:11:37,879 --> 00:11:43,600 for a future with this perfect stranger. He's looking for something serious, like 114 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:48,600 ultimately, that's the end game, that's what I want. Megan and Rush 115 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:54,399 finally met in person after working a long shift at a hookah bar. Megan 116 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,120 went home, took a quick shower, and then went to meet Rush at 117 00:11:58,159 --> 00:12:05,120 his naval base at two am. It all felt very exhilarating in Taboo. 118 00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:11,360 And I parked in this parking spot, in this little like parking lot, 119 00:12:11,919 --> 00:12:16,200 and one of his friends who was on duty with him, came and picked 120 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:22,000 me up in this truck and got me on bass and took me to the 121 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:28,000 helicopter hangar, and I was like, what is going on here? Like 122 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:33,519 I didn't realize he was like on duty. And so I get there and 123 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:39,559 he's in his blues and he looks divine. I was like, dang, 124 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:41,480 he's a lot harder than onny years in the pictures, those don't do them 125 00:12:41,519 --> 00:12:48,360 justice. Rush greeted Megan with a warm smile. Maybe it was the naval 126 00:12:48,399 --> 00:12:52,559 base, his uniform, his accent, or all of it swimming together, 127 00:12:52,039 --> 00:12:58,639 but she was pretty smitten. And then so we sat down in this desk 128 00:12:58,759 --> 00:13:05,320 area in front of the hangar and we just sat there and chatted, and 129 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:11,279 then he showed me the helicopters, like I actually got in a helicopter. 130 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:15,120 And now I'm mind you, I do not think this was what he was 131 00:13:15,159 --> 00:13:16,720 supposed to be doing. I think he could have gotten in a lot of 132 00:13:16,759 --> 00:13:22,879 trouble because of it. But I was just like so like taken back, 133 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:28,720 like, oh my gosh, he works on these helicopters, and really taken 134 00:13:28,759 --> 00:13:35,440 back by him. We sat in front in the office until seven o'clock in 135 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,799 the morning, mind you. I got there at two and was there until 136 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:46,159 seven when he was relieved of duty. And then he drove me back to 137 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:50,200 my car and the car wouldn't start. When they realized that Megan's car battery 138 00:13:50,279 --> 00:13:56,200 had died, Rush acted like a gentleman, took care of everything. It 139 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,799 was pouring down rain, and I just thought it was the I was. 140 00:14:00,159 --> 00:14:03,360 He saved my life, Like that's what I thought. Like immature. Megan 141 00:14:05,279 --> 00:14:09,120 was, Oh, he jumped in my car like he's my prince charming. 142 00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:16,879 That was our first day, and we spent every single day together after that. 143 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:22,679 Things would move very quickly for the couple, so quickly that young, 144 00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:28,799 vulnerable Megan barely had a chance to look around her and observe exactly what was 145 00:14:28,840 --> 00:15:01,200 going on beneath Rush's pristine surface. Twenty year old Megan Rose Hyatt had met 146 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:07,240 her prince charming, Rush Wilson. Rush worked in the military as a helicopter 147 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,960 mechanic. He was tall, dark, handsome, and the most impressive man 148 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:18,440 Megan had ever met. After sweeping her off her feet on their first date, 149 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:24,559 they became an instant couple. He was everything at first, everything. 150 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,159 He marked all the boxes. He was looking to buy a house. He 151 00:15:28,399 --> 00:15:33,519 had his two cars paid off, he had a motorcart girl paid off. 152 00:15:33,039 --> 00:15:39,080 He had money in the savings account. He was charming. He was just 153 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,600 checking off. He was educated, he had a nice job with benefits, 154 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:48,919 everything that you ideally would look for long term in a marriage. He was 155 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,879 just checking off every box. Rush and Megan had only been dating for a 156 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:58,679 month and a half before he invited her to move in. I moved in 157 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:07,720 and end of July beginning of August I lived in the spare room. So 158 00:16:07,039 --> 00:16:15,000 in the spare room was all of his ex wife's belongings. I didn't know 159 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,960 why, but she left everything behind and just pieced out. And at that 160 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,919 time I didn't think it was weird, but I did at the same time, 161 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:26,440 but I didn't want to dive into it, and I didn't want to 162 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,759 be overly curious and hurt his feelings or open old wounds. Megan didn't want 163 00:16:30,759 --> 00:16:37,080 to pry as much as Russian pressed her. He also intimidated her in a 164 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:42,360 strange way. He was so much more mature than she was. He had 165 00:16:42,399 --> 00:16:48,240 an ex wife, a career, a home, two cars. Well, 166 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:53,200 Megan was just starting her adult life. So he said I could move in 167 00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:57,799 and have all my stuff in the spare bedroom and we would you sleep in 168 00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:02,440 his bed, but all my stuff needed to go in there, and that 169 00:17:02,519 --> 00:17:07,359 I needed to get rid of his ex wife's belongings. Megan didn't know it 170 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:14,240 at the time, but Russia's ex wife's things were abandoned in a spare bedroom 171 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:18,839 because she had fled after Rush chased her and her toddler out of the house 172 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:25,119 with a hammer. Russia's ex wife wasn't hiding, and she didn't want him 173 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:30,799 to know where she was. Oblivious to all of that, Megan packed up 174 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:37,559 all Rusha's ex wife's belongings and slowly got rid of it all before she officially 175 00:17:38,039 --> 00:17:44,200 moved in herself. I move in. I'm cooking dinner every night, making 176 00:17:44,279 --> 00:17:48,839 him breakfast, getting up before I have to go to work, and making 177 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,960 him coffee, and packing his lunch and making sure he had everything he needed 178 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,039 for the day, like really like kind of like housewife stuff. Like I 179 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:03,440 was just going all in. I wanted him to just not I wanted him 180 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,799 to think that I was perfect realistically was I know, But I wanted him 181 00:18:07,839 --> 00:18:14,039 to think that I was perfect and I was worth his time. Everything seemed 182 00:18:14,039 --> 00:18:18,519 to be going swimmingly. Meghan played housewife and then continued to work her own 183 00:18:18,599 --> 00:18:26,400 jobs while rush served in the military, but the bliss didn't last long. 184 00:18:26,279 --> 00:18:30,960 After about a month of living there, there was a night he didn't come 185 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,440 home, didn't come home at all, didn't answer my text messages. I 186 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,720 literally didn't know if he was dead or alive. I was kind of worried, 187 00:18:40,839 --> 00:18:44,880 but I didn't have anybody else's contract information for them to check and see 188 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:52,119 if he was alive. So I just sat on the couch, awake all 189 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:59,599 night, just rummaging over my feelings and my anxiety of what's going on? 190 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:06,119 Why is this happening? Megan sat biting her nails, imagining the worst case 191 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:11,039 scenarios of what could have happened to Rush. Her thoughts were interrupted at sunrise 192 00:19:11,079 --> 00:19:15,920 when Rush strolled in the front door like nothing had happened. And then he 193 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,799 shows up at six o'clock in the morning and he's like hey, and I'm 194 00:19:19,799 --> 00:19:22,039 like, hey, I thought you were dead, Like I didn't know if 195 00:19:22,039 --> 00:19:26,680 you were alive or not. Text message saying you are alive would be kind 196 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:27,920 of you know, that would be nice, or I'm not coming home. 197 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:37,480 That is when things started to get weird. Over the next little while, 198 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:42,960 Russia's behavior started to become more and more questionable, and that started to happen 199 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,240 a lot where he would just disappear for a day or two and I'm living 200 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,319 in his house, like he's not even coming home to get clothes or food 201 00:19:52,400 --> 00:20:00,400 or anything. He's just gone. I wanted a man's love and approval so 202 00:20:00,519 --> 00:20:04,799 much that I dealt with other things that realistically, I wouldn't put up with 203 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:11,720 now. Regardless of Rush being gone without explanation, the relationship continued on. 204 00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:18,880 Rush decided he was going to buy a house and the couple moved that fall. 205 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:26,720 October eighteenth is when we moved into the house in Ocean Way, And 206 00:20:26,519 --> 00:20:32,039 when he was looking at houses, he would take me along with him to 207 00:20:32,079 --> 00:20:34,720 see what I liked about the house and what I didn't like about the house. 208 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,880 So I thought that we were more serious. I was like, Oh, 209 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:45,000 he's including me on this huge transaction, like this is a huge life 210 00:20:45,079 --> 00:20:48,920 choice and he's including me, which I thought was so I just thought that 211 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:51,680 was so attractive. I was like, Oh, he must really love me. 212 00:20:52,559 --> 00:20:56,599 And we picked out a house. It was a five bedroom, three 213 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,799 bath, not three and a half bath. It was a true story house 214 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:06,359 was beautiful. They signed the paperwork for the new house on October fifteenth, 215 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:12,319 which was Megan's twenty first birthday. It felt like a gift, but just 216 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:18,400 as Rush brought Megan's spirits up with the new house, they were crushed when 217 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:26,839 his mother and sisters came to visit, and then his family comes for a 218 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:32,480 weekend. Technically, he said we were not together because he was afraid of 219 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:37,440 what his family would say about me being a white girl so realistically like they 220 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:41,119 knew, but Rush was just trying to not have an issue with his mom. 221 00:21:41,039 --> 00:21:47,279 According to Megan, Rush's mother was very unimpressed that he had decided to 222 00:21:47,319 --> 00:21:52,359 shack up with a white girl instead of a Jamaican woman. Turns out racism 223 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,839 is alive, and well, just not the way you think. Rush was 224 00:21:59,039 --> 00:22:04,359 very close to his mother. He was the only boy with two sisters, 225 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:10,519 and according to Megan, no woman would ever be good enough for her only 226 00:22:10,599 --> 00:22:17,759 son. Russia's mother had become very protective and involved with her only son after 227 00:22:18,039 --> 00:22:23,160 she split up with his father. Rush never accepted any olive. Branch's father 228 00:22:23,279 --> 00:22:29,319 extended Rush did not like his father. From what I understand, it's because 229 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,079 of the way he treated his mother. But then I wonder if Rush was 230 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:37,200 the way he was because of his father. Rush helped his mother out, 231 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,960 sending her money and supporting her in any way that he could, which Megan 232 00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:47,920 didn't mind. But whatever Russia's family paid a visit, Megan said things were 233 00:22:48,799 --> 00:22:53,839 uncomfortable. His life was centered around her and her approval and her opinions and 234 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:59,440 her wants. And her desires and was very controlling when it came to a 235 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,880 relationship Chips. But she lived in New York City, so when she was 236 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:07,880 gone, it really wasn't There wasn't any control there because she was in New 237 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,440 York City, so there wasn't that control. But when she came, it 238 00:23:11,519 --> 00:23:18,839 was just overwhelming. That weekend that they were in town. They left on 239 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:25,400 Sunday night. Monday morning, I realized that I hadn't had a period, 240 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,119 So I went and I took a pregnancy test. I got off work, 241 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,839 went and bought one, came home, took it, and within seconds that 242 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,720 double line lit up like there was no waiting. Five minutes so I found 243 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:44,200 out in pregnant. The news was shocking. Megan had just turned twenty one, 244 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,920 she had only known Rush for five months. I was scared shitless. 245 00:23:49,759 --> 00:23:53,039 I was scared shitless. I didn't think I was writing to be a mom. 246 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:57,279 This is not something I wanted at this moment in time. But I 247 00:23:57,839 --> 00:24:03,160 talking to my dad and I knew that what was meant to be was meant 248 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,359 to be. And when he found out I was pregnant, he was like, 249 00:24:07,519 --> 00:24:11,240 you and Rush are a team. Now you have to be a team 250 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:17,319 you have to talk, communicate, grow together. But he was all about 251 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,720 us being a team and being the best parents that we could be. Regardless 252 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,480 of our father's positive and uplifting reaction to the pregnancy, Megan was nervous to 253 00:24:26,559 --> 00:24:32,519 tell Rush the news. She knew that when he came home from work he 254 00:24:32,599 --> 00:24:37,559 would want his thirty minutes to decompress. Rush had a strict rule that Megan 255 00:24:37,759 --> 00:24:44,359 was not to bother him after work until he had some time to relax alone. 256 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,440 So I sit down on the couch and mind you, his sister, 257 00:24:47,559 --> 00:24:52,599 Kim is still there, his younger sister, and his mom already flew back 258 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,160 home, but Kim is still there. And I was like, hey, 259 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,359 Kim, have you heard from Rush? Like when is he getting home? 260 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:00,240 And she's like, oh, he's on his way. I'm like okay. 261 00:25:00,279 --> 00:25:07,319 And he gets there and I'm like time is passing by too slow. But 262 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:08,680 he gets He walks in the door and I'm like, hey, can you 263 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,400 come upstairs? I really need to talk to you. No, Megan, 264 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,839 you know it's my thirty minutes. I'm like, no, I really need 265 00:25:14,839 --> 00:25:17,160 to talk to you, Like I really need you to come upstairs. And 266 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,440 he's like, no, Megan, it's my thirty minutes, you know, 267 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,960 like basically you know the rules, like he's you know, in charge of 268 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,240 me or something. And I threw the pregnancy test at him. Megan waited 269 00:25:27,279 --> 00:25:36,240 for Russia's reaction surprise, shock, disbelief, joy, not exactly. He 270 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:41,359 gets so pissed off and he walks through the front door, slams it and 271 00:25:41,519 --> 00:25:48,400 is screaming at the heavens, why God, Why me? And I was 272 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:53,079 I was taking back. I was like what. And so I'm sitting there 273 00:25:53,079 --> 00:25:57,240 crying like hormones are in full effect. And his sister Kim is like, 274 00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:00,960 what just happened? And she walked out siding he told her, And then 275 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,079 I'm sitting here crying on the couch like I'm about to just like if this 276 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:07,880 is how he felt, then I'm going to go back home and live with 277 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,799 my dad and I'll just do it there and we can copear it. But 278 00:26:11,039 --> 00:26:14,880 like, and then he walked inside. He was calm, and he's like, 279 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,880 Okay, this is what it is. It's okay. You know. 280 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:22,319 He was just like I wasn't expecting it this soon in our relationship, and 281 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,160 so, you know, and he calmed down, but I was still like 282 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:33,000 taken back by how he reacted in those first few moments Megan's pregnancy was in 283 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:38,400 full swing. She was scared, but she also knew she had the love 284 00:26:38,599 --> 00:26:45,920 and support of her family, especially her father. As the idea of being 285 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:51,680 a mother settled in Megan's brain, she went to the doctor for an ultrasound 286 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,559 and soon found out some even more shocking news. They did the ultrasound, 287 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:02,039 there looking and there's like, oh, here, here's the baby. Here's 288 00:27:02,079 --> 00:27:03,599 the baby. And I'm like, are you sure there's not a second one 289 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:10,400 in there? Because in the waiting room, I just felt like I was 290 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:15,079 going to have twins and everything was going to be okay, Like everything is 291 00:27:15,079 --> 00:27:17,519 going to be okay, and You're gonna have twins. And I was like, 292 00:27:17,559 --> 00:27:21,240 I really firmly believe that. And so when we went in there and 293 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,200 they're like, whoa, let me check around, and they're like, oh, 294 00:27:23,279 --> 00:27:26,000 yep, here's baby number two. And in my head, I'm like, 295 00:27:26,079 --> 00:27:32,000 I told you, I told you, Megan and Rush, we're going 296 00:27:32,039 --> 00:27:38,319 to have twins, two identical baby girls. But as Megan's pregnancy progressed and 297 00:27:38,599 --> 00:27:45,880 fall turned to winter, Rush continued his strange behavior. He would be out 298 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:51,319 all night or leave for days. He would insist that Megan allowed him to 299 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:56,680 go through her phone. Things became strained in January, and Rush told Megan 300 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:03,559 they weren't together anymore romantically. He no longer thought of her as his girlfriend, 301 00:28:03,279 --> 00:28:08,119 but he still wanted to continue living together. Let's just try to be 302 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:15,319 roommates and co parent in the same home for our children. And it wasn't 303 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:18,680 ideal, it wasn't what I wanted, But at the same time, I 304 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,039 wanted my children to have a mother and a father that loved them and cared 305 00:28:22,079 --> 00:28:26,200 for them. And I also didn't want Rush to not experience everything that I 306 00:28:26,279 --> 00:28:34,079 was experiencing. Things started to deteriorate between the couple. Rush was clearly sleeping 307 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:41,559 with other women behind her back. Megan was lonely. Rush was gone all 308 00:28:41,599 --> 00:28:48,000 the time. She was his roommate after all, so she would casually message 309 00:28:48,039 --> 00:28:55,680 other men for a little confidence boost, no harm, no foul. When 310 00:28:55,759 --> 00:29:00,400 Rush found out that I was messaging other men, he lost it. He 311 00:29:02,039 --> 00:29:04,960 lost it, and so I called my dad and said, look, I'm 312 00:29:06,039 --> 00:29:10,759 moving out. I need your help. Megan's father, Jimmy, came over 313 00:29:10,799 --> 00:29:15,279 and helped his pregnant daughter packer bags and go home. My dad helping me 314 00:29:15,359 --> 00:29:22,440 move out that day and walking through Russia's house was apparently the biggest disrespect in 315 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,680 the Jamaican culture to him, that my dad was stomping around his house taking 316 00:29:26,759 --> 00:29:33,279 his woman from him. The couple stayed apart for a while until surprisingly, 317 00:29:33,279 --> 00:29:37,880 it was Russia's mother who convinced him to save the relationship, and that his 318 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,880 mom was telling him basically, what did you expect. You're not treating her 319 00:29:44,079 --> 00:29:48,000 the way she deserves to be treated. She's the mother of your children, 320 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,319 and you're you are treating her like shit. That Valentine's Day, Rush asked 321 00:29:52,359 --> 00:29:57,880 Megan out to dinner. He apologized for his behavior and promised that he would 322 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:04,599 be everything she needed in a partner. He even made their love official on 323 00:30:04,759 --> 00:30:11,160 Facebook. How romantic he puts me on Facebook and announces to the world that 324 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:17,680 we're having twins and that we're together. He told me that the reason he 325 00:30:17,759 --> 00:30:21,599 blew up is because he didn't realize how much he loved me, and so 326 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,720 that on February the fourteenth, on Valentine's Day, that's why you know, 327 00:30:26,759 --> 00:30:29,799 it's the day of love. He wanted to show me how much she really 328 00:30:29,799 --> 00:30:33,440 loved me and wanting to be with me, so I moved in. I 329 00:30:33,519 --> 00:30:37,519 moved back in that night, talking to myself, you know, oh, 330 00:30:37,559 --> 00:30:40,000 this is going to be different. This time is going to be different. 331 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,400 Now he really loves me. Now, now he's aware of his feelings, 332 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,680 like he's not running away from them. That's what I in my immature mind, 333 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:56,519 that's what I thought. Megan may have been immature, but she was 334 00:30:56,519 --> 00:31:00,680 also pregnant. She had a stake in his game, and she was willing 335 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:07,440 to try and make it work. Rush gave her every reason to believe that 336 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:12,440 he had changed. The couple set up a nursery for the babies, stocked 337 00:31:12,519 --> 00:31:18,200 up with years worth of clothes, toys, and diapers, and they decided 338 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:26,319 on baby names. Then, in our third trimester, Megan was put on 339 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:32,559 immediate emergency bedrest. I am not supposed to be cleaning. I am not 340 00:31:32,599 --> 00:31:38,359 supposed to be cooking. I literally am told to stay on the couch, 341 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,680 laid up, or in the bed laid up. I am not supposed to 342 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:49,240 do anything. Their heart rates were descelling. Every time I would get up 343 00:31:49,279 --> 00:31:55,359 and start moving in then my blood pressure would elevate. The twins were stressed 344 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,279 and I needed to relax. Megan took it easy from then on and went 345 00:32:01,319 --> 00:32:07,079 to the doctor every week for fetal monitoring. During one visit, when she 346 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:12,400 was thirty three weeks pregnant, she was told she had to deliver the babies 347 00:32:13,279 --> 00:32:19,240 like right now. Megan was rushed to the hospital for an emergency C section. 348 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:24,839 The babies would be seven weeks premature. We met on June eighth, 349 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:30,720 twenty fourteen, and we brought our girls into this world on June eighth, 350 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:36,839 twenty fifteen, exactly a year later. The birth of her twin girls was 351 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:42,920 a whirlwind of happiness and joy, despite the chaos that the surgery had brought. 352 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,279 Rush gets there, he changes into his gear that they give him at 353 00:32:47,319 --> 00:32:52,680 the hospital. We get into the room to do the C section, and 354 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:59,960 they're born. They're born. There was Hayden Rose Wilson, and they were 355 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:06,559 Caden Reese Wilson. The couple called the girls by their middle names, Rose 356 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:13,119 and Reese. Megan was in love the minute she met her beautiful babies. 357 00:33:13,839 --> 00:33:16,039 They were the loves of my life. I love them so much. And 358 00:33:16,119 --> 00:33:21,720 they were beautiful and tiny, and they were in premy clothes, and they 359 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:25,759 were so delicate, but their snuggles. They were the best, and they 360 00:33:25,759 --> 00:33:30,680 were in the Nike. Reese was in the nick for twenty one days. 361 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:35,519 Rose was in the Nike for twenty eight days, mainly just because of their 362 00:33:35,559 --> 00:33:39,559 size. They were so small they had to be on a feeding tube, 363 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:44,799 and basically we were just trying to get them to five pounds so that they 364 00:33:44,799 --> 00:33:50,759 could be in they could be transported home. Reese got to go home first, 365 00:33:50,839 --> 00:33:58,880 while Rose had to stay at the NIICU. Then something amazing happened in 366 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,279 the Nike. You went and Reese went home, and Rose was there by 367 00:34:01,319 --> 00:34:07,159 herself. She was She gained two and a half pounds in one week, 368 00:34:08,079 --> 00:34:12,440 and all the nurses were like, she wanted to get home to her sister. 369 00:34:14,079 --> 00:34:16,960 She did not want to be away from her sister because we thought she 370 00:34:17,039 --> 00:34:21,960 was going to be in the Nikki for another month. Twins are pretty incredible, 371 00:34:22,079 --> 00:34:25,880 huh. You hear those stories about couples in their nineties who've been married 372 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:31,679 for sixty years and the husband dies and the wife follows, But imagine the 373 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:38,199 bond you'd have being in the womb with someone. It's almost psychic in nature. 374 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:45,360 Rose and Reese needed one another. They were all each other knew, 375 00:34:45,519 --> 00:34:52,320 that is until they were born and put on their mother's chest. Speaking of 376 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:57,760 which, Megan was so in love with her daughters. She adored being a 377 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:07,679 new mom. I loved it. I loved it. I loved being with 378 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:15,440 my daughters and I loved I would do different activities with them to build their 379 00:35:15,519 --> 00:35:20,280 eyes, sight and the colors, and I would put on different TV shows 380 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,679 like I would put on Planet Earth and they would just watch it with all 381 00:35:23,679 --> 00:35:27,679 the colors and the sound, and it was a very soothing show, the 382 00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:30,960 way the guy talks. I was doing all these different things. I was 383 00:35:31,039 --> 00:35:37,039 playing with them. I would rotate them through different sections of this giant living 384 00:35:37,119 --> 00:35:40,920 room. I loved being a mom. Honestly, during that time, that 385 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,400 was my true my true calling was being a mom. The babies were growing 386 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:53,079 healthier each day and developing little personalities. The first stuffed animals I bought them 387 00:35:53,519 --> 00:36:00,000 were from Carters and it was the last two one, the last two girls 388 00:36:00,119 --> 00:36:05,159 toys. It was a beautiful fox and a beautiful owl, and I was 389 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:10,440 like, these are perfect for them. Little did I know how perfect they 390 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:19,840 would be. Reese, she was our little owl. She would just observe 391 00:36:20,079 --> 00:36:25,239 and watch and she would coo, and she was just so just so calm 392 00:36:25,679 --> 00:36:30,199 all the time, so so calm, and just loved to look around and 393 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:35,760 see what was going on. She loved to hear her voice. She was 394 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:43,360 my calm baby Rose. She was definitely like a fox. She was feisty. 395 00:36:43,679 --> 00:36:47,079 She wanted food when she wanted it. She wanted to watch the fan 396 00:36:47,199 --> 00:36:52,039 when she wanted it. She was very demanding, complete opposite of Reese. 397 00:36:52,519 --> 00:36:58,400 I mean, she was just I loved all she was spicy, and I 398 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,840 loved it. I loved it that they were so different, but yet when 399 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:06,199 you would put them in the crib, they would talk to each other all 400 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,760 night. They would sit in the crib in the morning and just coo and 401 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,719 talk to each other. They wouldn't cry for me to come get them. 402 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,199 They would just sit there and talk to each other in hold hands and I 403 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:21,320 mean they were doing that at five months old, like they loved each other. 404 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,679 Megan watched with awe and amazement as her twin girls developed a bond, 405 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:31,400 just like she had with her own twin brother. It was a blessing end. 406 00:37:32,039 --> 00:37:37,239 She felt lucky every day, despite the fact that things with Rush were 407 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:43,519 becoming increasingly worse. When he was angry. Rush would call Megan fat, 408 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:49,719 you'd insult her skills as a mother. Rush would tell Megan she was ruining 409 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:54,480 his life. Everything would be better if she would just back off. So 410 00:37:54,639 --> 00:38:00,840 Megan would pull away. Then Rush would complain that he was ignoring him, 411 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:08,480 not tending to his needs, he was abandoning him. The turmoil was endless 412 00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:14,039 about how I'm not a good mom, and then it's I'm not doing enough, 413 00:38:14,119 --> 00:38:16,320 but then it's I'm doing too much. I'm doing too much, but 414 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:21,800 then it goes back to you're not doing enough. Nothing was ever perfect, 415 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:30,360 nothing was ever good enough for him. The fights escalated. Rush didn't just 416 00:38:30,519 --> 00:38:36,239 yell or slam doors. He started throwing things at Megan, little things like 417 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,719 a glass photo frame. Another time he threw a coffee table across the room 418 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:47,199 and the ceramic bowl on top smashed into a million pieces. He goes outside 419 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:52,480 screaming after he did that, and I just went and got a room in 420 00:38:52,519 --> 00:39:00,519 a dustpan, in the trash can. I I can't even how you why 421 00:39:00,599 --> 00:39:06,079 I didn't react to that, but I just shut down. Russia's anger became 422 00:39:06,559 --> 00:39:13,599 more and more unpredictable as babies rose and Reese grew, There were so many 423 00:39:13,679 --> 00:39:17,599 happy, tender moments. Rush was a good father and he loved his baby 424 00:39:17,679 --> 00:39:23,440 girls, but his anger and mood swings were too much to dodge. Unscathed. 425 00:39:24,679 --> 00:39:30,639 On Facebook, though, Rush would post pictures of the babies and Megan, 426 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:36,920 professing his love for his family. I wanted to say a special thank 427 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:42,159 you to my best friend, lover and mother of my kids. Even though 428 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,599 you went down two spots in my heart, being third is still a good 429 00:39:45,639 --> 00:39:52,320 spot. Can't wait to see what the future holds. This happy image that 430 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:57,760 Rush boasted on social media was nothing close to the truth. Me and Rush 431 00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:06,199 were in an argument and I was sitting in the rocking chair pumping breast milk, 432 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:10,920 and I was like, I can't deal with your attitude anymore. It's 433 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:16,039 so overwhelming. I can't handle this anymore. Why can't you be like you 434 00:40:16,079 --> 00:40:22,639 where when we first met? And he sat down on the pedestal and pulled 435 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:28,559 the rocking chair so fast and was screaming at me in my face, saying, 436 00:40:28,599 --> 00:40:31,880 if I leave again, I'm gonna regret it. He'll never take me 437 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:37,440 back if I leave again. If I leave, I'm destroying our family. 438 00:40:37,519 --> 00:40:40,880 And I was like, okay, okay, I'm not gonna leave. I'm 439 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:45,000 not gonna leave. Well, then he throws me on the bed. Like 440 00:40:45,039 --> 00:40:49,639 I get up to like go check on the girls because I hear them in 441 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:54,159 their nursery, which was right across the house from our bedroom. And he's 442 00:40:54,199 --> 00:40:58,360 like, where are you going? And I'm like, I'm gonna go check 443 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:00,800 on the girls. He's like, no, come here. He grabs my 444 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:06,199 wrist, throws me on the bed and then proceeds to raid me. And 445 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:12,159 I didn't even fight. I just laid there and he's trying to call my 446 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:20,039 dad so my dad could hear what he was doing to me. Megan was 447 00:41:20,079 --> 00:41:25,079 at her lowest point. She had been sexually humiliated by Rush, the man 448 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:30,480 she was supposed to be able to trust. She was mortified. I didn't 449 00:41:30,519 --> 00:41:37,920 speak to anybody for days. Three days on November thirteenth, I called my 450 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:43,920 dad and he had been He was worried because I called. I hadn't called 451 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,559 Rush had called, but it looked like I had called. Rush called him 452 00:41:46,599 --> 00:41:53,920 three times in a row, and he thought there was an emergency. And 453 00:41:53,960 --> 00:42:00,199 I told him why he had three miss colls and I told him why and 454 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:07,400 what Rush was doing to me, and my dad proceeded to cry and tell 455 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:12,280 me what abuse is. And he's like, Megan, if you don't leave 456 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:17,639 now, it's just gonna get worse. I took a break and I just 457 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:23,920 prayed to the Lord and asked him sorry, and just asked him what I 458 00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:28,920 needed to do, what I needed to do to protect my girls into protecting 459 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:32,559 me with all this new information that it didn't necessarily believe what my gut was 460 00:42:32,599 --> 00:42:37,639 telling me it was true. And so I called my dad and said, 461 00:42:37,719 --> 00:42:39,920 Dad, I knew you to get here. In the next thirty minutes. 462 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:45,079 I'm starting to pack our things. We're going to leave. Megan knew she 463 00:42:45,119 --> 00:42:49,719 had to go. She had the support and love of her family and friends. 464 00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:54,840 She would be okay, the girls would be safe. She just had 465 00:42:54,880 --> 00:43:01,000 to try to peacefully coparent with Rush the best she could. But for now, 466 00:43:01,199 --> 00:43:07,320 for today, she needed to get the hell out of the house before 467 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:15,920 things got any worse, and Megan had no idea how bad things could really 468 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:46,920 get. Megan Hyatt was a new mother of twin baby girls in an increasingly 469 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:53,719 abusive relationship with her military boyfriend Rush Wilson. After Rush had raped Megan, 470 00:43:54,639 --> 00:44:01,920 she decided that was enough and she had to get out. After confirming our 471 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:07,559 dad was on his way, Megan asked her friend Sarah to also join them 472 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:13,119 for an extra set of hands. Rush was at work at his naval base. 473 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,800 If they all work together quickly, they could have Megan and the girls 474 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:22,400 out before he got home. And we put their car seats in our car 475 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:25,840 and my person in our car and their diaper bag in the car, and 476 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:30,400 Sarah is trying to calm them down, but they need to eat. They 477 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:34,440 haven't had they haven't had their food their bottle yet. But I'm trying to 478 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:38,280 get everything before Rush comes home. But Rush is blowing up my phone telling 479 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:43,000 me not to leave, that he knows I'm leaving, and just stay until 480 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:45,840 he get the stairs so that we can have a conversation and to not make 481 00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:52,800 this decision on my own. Rush was texting Megan, move into your mom's 482 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:57,039 house. I'll come see the kids on the weekend. If you want me 483 00:44:57,079 --> 00:45:01,360 to fuck off and fuck you, I'll stay out until your dad and mommy 484 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:07,079 come fucking get you. I need a woman. I'm sick of wifing a 485 00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:14,000 child. Rush kept calling Megan, but she didn't pick up. He kept 486 00:45:14,039 --> 00:45:20,719 calling. She ignored him. His messages became more frantic, more scared. 487 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:28,719 It was as if he knew that she was ready to go. Yeah, 488 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:32,480 this relationship is not for me. I don't care if you leave. All 489 00:45:32,519 --> 00:45:37,360 I ask is that you leave a note saying you left, and leave everything 490 00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:43,480 I bought. Take whatever you came with. Please don't take anything I paid 491 00:45:43,559 --> 00:45:49,760 for. That's when Megan finally texted back that she was leaving. She couldn't 492 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:55,599 do it anymore. So you're really going to leave, You're really done, 493 00:45:57,719 --> 00:46:02,360 Megan. I'm calling you back. Please don't let me take the time to 494 00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:07,280 come home. I want a chance to talk. This is our life, 495 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:14,239 Megan. Don't make this decision on your own. Megan, her father, 496 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:20,360 Jimmy, and her best friend Sarah kept packing and getting baby Rose and baby 497 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:25,800 Reese ready to go. Then they heard something at the door and he walks 498 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:30,079 in and he's in his dress. He's in his khaki top and his black 499 00:46:30,119 --> 00:46:36,480 pants with his black shiny shoes that like just click on the floor, and 500 00:46:36,519 --> 00:46:39,880 he takes off his khaki top in the kitchen and he's like, he puts 501 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:45,800 his phone down there, tells my dad to hate Jimmy. Do you mind 502 00:46:46,039 --> 00:46:51,320 if you go outside? So me and Megan can have a conversation. And 503 00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:52,599 I say, yeah, the girls need to eat anyway, so I'll make 504 00:46:52,599 --> 00:47:00,280 their bottles real quick. I made their bottles and we sat down in the 505 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:04,480 living room that was in the front of the house, and we sat there 506 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:10,559 and he proceeded to ask me a series of questions. Are you for real? 507 00:47:12,559 --> 00:47:15,679 Do you remember what I told you that if he left the end, 508 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:19,400 you would be ruining our family and I would never give you another chance. 509 00:47:20,079 --> 00:47:23,280 Are you sure you want to do this? So the truck is packed, 510 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:30,519 You're really going? And I said yes, Rush stood up. Immediately his 511 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:36,039 face turned to stone. So I have Rose in one arm and Rees in 512 00:47:36,119 --> 00:47:38,519 the other arm. He goes and he shuts the front door, and it 513 00:47:38,519 --> 00:47:45,239 heads to the closet that has the R fifteen in it. He looked at 514 00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:49,880 me and he said, I'm gonna show you whatever is, bitch. I'm 515 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:53,159 gonna show you, and I'm gonna kill your dad, and you're gonna watch. 516 00:47:54,519 --> 00:47:59,880 I'm gonna take everything from you, and you're gonna watch me do it. 517 00:48:04,639 --> 00:48:07,920 I then had the girls in my arms and I'm screaming Dad, run, 518 00:48:07,039 --> 00:48:09,880 Dad, run, don't come in, don't come in, Please run 519 00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:15,480 call nine one one, and what does any dad do? He ran through 520 00:48:15,519 --> 00:48:22,480 that door. He ran through that door, and Rush riddled him with bullets, 521 00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:29,079 and my dad kept getting up and getting up and getting up, and 522 00:48:29,119 --> 00:48:30,639 I'm like, why won't he just stay down? Why does he keep getting 523 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:37,400 up? And I get from one couch the next, and my dad's in 524 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:39,039 the doorway and that's where the bullets hard. I'm trying to figure out how 525 00:48:39,079 --> 00:48:44,480 to get the girls out, and then I look at Rush and he looks 526 00:48:44,519 --> 00:48:45,920 at me, and he points the gun at me and he shoots me once 527 00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:52,559 in the stomach. And I touched my stomach and I give him feel blood 528 00:48:52,639 --> 00:48:55,480 rushing down my body. I didn't look at him, and I'm like, 529 00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:01,639 you just fucking shot me. And then he told me with bullets. Rush 530 00:49:01,679 --> 00:49:09,400 shot Megan again and again and again. Then when he was done inflicting the 531 00:49:09,519 --> 00:49:15,960 bullets on the mother of his babies, he turned the gun towards his five 532 00:49:16,039 --> 00:49:21,000 month old daughters. The girls were shot in the middle on the back of 533 00:49:21,039 --> 00:49:27,039 their head. She did it on purpose. They had to wear bonnets at 534 00:49:27,039 --> 00:49:31,480 their funeral because of the bullet holes in the back of their head. Rhes 535 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:37,960 laid on the couch her little arms and legs, stretching and squiggling, unaware 536 00:49:38,719 --> 00:49:45,239 of the violence going on around her, Rush rolled her over and shot her 537 00:49:45,239 --> 00:49:53,639 execution style, blowing his daughter's fragile skull wide open. Her brains exploded onto 538 00:49:53,639 --> 00:50:00,880 her shoulders and the couch cushions as Megan screamed in agony, wh her baby 539 00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:07,280 girl die. Rush did the same to baby Rose while she was clutched in 540 00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:15,280 her mother's arms. Then he turned the gun back to Megan. He shoots 541 00:50:15,280 --> 00:50:17,920 me in the legs. So I fall down, and I'm just being screamed 542 00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:22,840 at. Play dead, play dead, play dead, And I just lay 543 00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:31,119 there and I have one of my daughter's in my arm, lifeless. And 544 00:50:31,199 --> 00:50:36,679 I have one of my daughters on the couch that fell on the couch when 545 00:50:36,679 --> 00:50:43,639 I fell back, lifeless. My dad is screaming in agony. And then 546 00:50:43,719 --> 00:50:46,920 Rush goes outside and shoots off the gun. So I thought he killed Sarah 547 00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:54,039 too, But Rush had not killed Sarah. Sarah had fled down the street 548 00:50:54,079 --> 00:50:59,920 with her cell phone and called nine one as she ran away from the distant 549 00:51:00,119 --> 00:51:09,800 sound of Rush's aar fifteen jack well number one night. Well, I think, 550 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:14,960 my friend, there's what a domestic violence thing going on at their house. 551 00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:20,360 Yeah, and I think I just gunshot you. What do you think 552 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:27,000 of shot? Give me, Chris, I'm sorry, I'm trying to find 553 00:51:27,119 --> 00:51:32,719 I'm trying to find that, ma'am. Sarah frantically tried to find the address 554 00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:38,800 in her phone. Megan was bleeding to death in her living room, next 555 00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:45,880 to her dead baby daughters and her dying father. As she laid on the 556 00:51:45,880 --> 00:51:52,559 ground clinging to life, Rush walked back inside and then first seeds to come 557 00:51:52,599 --> 00:51:59,239 inside, stand over me and commit suicide. In one final act of unspeakable 558 00:51:59,400 --> 00:52:04,599 violence, Rush stood over the woman he claimed the love, put the gun 559 00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:09,880 to his chin and pulled the trigger. He blew his head off and fell 560 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:19,760 backwards towards the couch that was spattered with his baby's blood and membranes. Just 561 00:52:19,920 --> 00:52:24,960 try and put yourself in Megan's position for a minute. Really think hard about 562 00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:30,280 this. Your five month old baby girls have just been murdered in front of 563 00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:37,320 you by their father. Then he shoots you and stands over you and blows 564 00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:43,559 his head off. Your father is down the hallway. You can hear him 565 00:52:43,559 --> 00:52:49,039 trying to stay alive. You can hear him gasping, But you can't move 566 00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:52,599 when I know Rush is that, I tell my dad how sorry I am? 567 00:52:52,599 --> 00:52:54,800 Oh, I didn't know this was going to happen, and I was 568 00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:59,079 sorry, Iam, and he asked me where the girls are, and I 569 00:52:59,119 --> 00:53:07,159 told him they were dead. And my dad told me that he wasn't gonna 570 00:53:07,199 --> 00:53:12,440 make it and now he's gonna watch over them, and that he was gonna 571 00:53:12,440 --> 00:53:20,000 watch over them. And I sat up and I was shot in the wrist, 572 00:53:20,039 --> 00:53:23,480 so I couldn't get up, and my leg was riddled and in pieces, 573 00:53:23,519 --> 00:53:29,000 and I didn't really know how I was going to get to a phone. 574 00:53:29,039 --> 00:53:31,280 But I heard Rush's phone ringing in the kitchen, and I knew that 575 00:53:31,360 --> 00:53:36,119 was too far. My phone was in Sayer's car and there's no way I'm 576 00:53:36,159 --> 00:53:39,119 making it outside. And then I saw my dad's phone, so I lift 577 00:53:39,239 --> 00:53:44,119 my leg too as much forward as I can, and I bought skew. 578 00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:53,400 I butt skow to my dad's phone and I call nine one one shot me. 579 00:53:54,880 --> 00:54:02,719 Oh, my dad made what he shot up? Where's he at? 580 00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:09,480 Now? Man? He him? He shot himself too. I'm trying to 581 00:54:09,480 --> 00:54:14,760 cling to the funk human. My dad was saying him leaving out and moving 582 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:17,199 out, and I think my breathmen parents leaving out when he bird good, 583 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:25,760 he shot everybody in the house. Yes, how many people, ma'am? 584 00:54:28,079 --> 00:54:34,239 I don't know. If you're calling you out, I've already said. And 585 00:54:34,320 --> 00:54:39,599 then I try to lay on my dad to create pressures so he's not bleeding 586 00:54:39,599 --> 00:54:43,440 out anymore. But every time I tried to lean on him and he won't 587 00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:51,239 scream in agony. And then the police showed up and my dad took his 588 00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:57,679 last breath. Listen to the next clip carefully. When the police officer enters 589 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:02,719 the home, he's so shot and terrified by the carnage. He yells to 590 00:55:02,760 --> 00:55:21,760 everyone to stay back now or anybody's days. We have the crime scene photos 591 00:55:21,800 --> 00:55:27,840 from this day, and believe me, you do not want to see them. 592 00:55:28,039 --> 00:55:31,039 I could barely do it. In fact, I think I saw one 593 00:55:31,079 --> 00:55:38,159 photo and closed the window immediately. Now imagine what Megan saw, what Megan 594 00:55:38,280 --> 00:55:43,800 knows, and what she will never forget for the rest of her life. 595 00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:51,400 Rush wanted to show her the definition of the word over. He wanted to 596 00:55:51,480 --> 00:55:59,679 keep her suffering until her dying breath. What a disgusting, inhumane thing to 597 00:55:59,719 --> 00:56:05,719 do to another person. And then the EMTs loaded me on this yellow tarp, 598 00:56:06,199 --> 00:56:12,079 put me in the ambulance and took me away. And that was just 599 00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:20,880 I was awake every single second until they put me out with anesthesia. Megan 600 00:56:21,079 --> 00:56:27,360 was put under so doctors could tend to her various wounds. She underwent five 601 00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:34,400 surgeries. Megan bled out three times on the operating table. She had lost 602 00:56:34,440 --> 00:56:39,079 an eye in the shooting, her leg was shattered. It would be a 603 00:56:39,119 --> 00:56:45,440 miracle if she ever walked again. But none of that mattered because her father 604 00:56:45,920 --> 00:56:52,800 was dead and her baby girls were dead. And in the LDS, the 605 00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:58,719 Latter Day Saint religion, we believe and priested blessings, which is basically where 606 00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:06,280 you prey up on someone and you listen to the spirit and you prey upon 607 00:57:06,320 --> 00:57:14,440 them and you And when I UM, when I woke up, I asked 608 00:57:14,480 --> 00:57:19,440 if I had missed my dad's funeral, and they said now that they were 609 00:57:19,440 --> 00:57:25,719 waiting for me to wake up. And I asked if um, if I 610 00:57:25,760 --> 00:57:31,679 had missed my daughter's funeral, and then they said, no, we were 611 00:57:31,719 --> 00:57:37,960 waiting for you to wake up. And then I I looked at my mom 612 00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:39,920 and I was like, I need the bishop to come give me a blessing. 613 00:57:42,159 --> 00:57:49,519 I need to know if what I saw was real, I just can't 614 00:57:49,559 --> 00:57:54,039 believe it. I need I need the bishop to come and pray upon me 615 00:57:55,559 --> 00:58:00,480 so I know what to do. From me here on a few role for 616 00:58:00,599 --> 00:58:06,599 baby Rose, baby Reese and Jimmy Hyatt happened a few weeks later. And 617 00:58:06,639 --> 00:58:14,519 then November twenty third, just a funeral day and we bury the girls and 618 00:58:14,599 --> 00:58:20,559 my dad and the girls are next to my dad, and they were buried 619 00:58:20,599 --> 00:58:27,719 and little bonnets because of the bullet holes, and they had the most beautiful 620 00:58:27,760 --> 00:58:35,880 bishop dresses. And and I held their hands, which is kind of symbolic 621 00:58:36,440 --> 00:58:40,840 because when they were in the Nike you I couldn't hold them for three days 622 00:58:40,880 --> 00:58:47,119 and Reese for five days. So I welcomed them into this world by holding 623 00:58:47,159 --> 00:58:53,480 their hands. And holding their hands was how I showed them love at first 624 00:58:53,519 --> 00:59:01,599 and just and then as I so goodbye to them, I held their hands. 625 00:59:02,239 --> 00:59:06,800 So I welcome to them into this world am I holding their hands? 626 00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:09,639 And I let them know how which I was going to miss them. Wallow 627 00:59:09,719 --> 00:59:16,880 seat on earth anyone that has had to bury a child when you can't hold 628 00:59:16,920 --> 00:59:22,079 them anymore. For me, I was going back from recent rows. I 629 00:59:22,159 --> 00:59:25,239 was going back and before pulling their hands, and then I had to have 630 00:59:25,519 --> 00:59:30,920 this moment. I had to have this moment with myself where I had to 631 00:59:30,960 --> 00:59:36,480 be like, you know what, I can't stay here forever, so I 632 00:59:36,519 --> 00:59:37,760 need to let go of their hands, and they need to let them go. 633 00:59:38,320 --> 00:59:42,599 But I know that God has my back, and I know that they're 634 00:59:42,639 --> 00:59:45,559 fine, and I know that they're safe, and I know that they're worth 635 00:59:45,599 --> 00:59:49,679 heavenly father, and I know my Dad is watching over them in heaven. 636 00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:53,480 I know these things, and this is this is just their physical body, 637 00:59:54,440 --> 00:59:59,760 and one day, one day, I'll see them again. But for now, 638 00:59:59,800 --> 01:00:01,880 I have to say goodbye to their bodies. And I think that was 639 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:07,719 as hard as saying out of this whole situation, was having to say goodbye 640 01:00:07,719 --> 01:00:15,000 to them. Since Rush killed himself after committing the murders, there wasn't much 641 01:00:15,039 --> 01:00:20,519 of an investigation, but they did search the house and document the crime scene 642 01:00:21,239 --> 01:00:27,920 when the detectives went through. When the detectives went through the house and they 643 01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:31,360 went through everything, they asked if I knew about this weapon or that weapon, 644 01:00:31,480 --> 01:00:36,199 or this weapon or that weapon, and that they were hidden all over 645 01:00:36,280 --> 01:00:44,320 the house from machetes to hunting knives to other guns. All kinds of weapons 646 01:00:44,400 --> 01:00:50,480 hidden. There were so many weapons they were taken back. Why was this 647 01:00:50,519 --> 01:00:54,639 weapon taped to the couch? Who really lives in this much fear? Paranoid 648 01:00:54,760 --> 01:01:15,400 or not? What Rush did was absolutely sorry, demonic. It was unexplainable. 649 01:01:19,199 --> 01:01:25,679 He wanted to inflict as much pain on Megan as he possibly could. 650 01:01:27,679 --> 01:01:30,320 Was he always this evil when I and he was just trying to hide it? 651 01:01:30,360 --> 01:01:35,320 And then it just it just escaped all at once. I've wrestled with 652 01:01:36,159 --> 01:01:42,440 the fact that he was bipolar and unmedicated. I found that out later on, 653 01:01:43,119 --> 01:01:52,840 and I honestly I think I know that wherever he is now, that 654 01:01:52,039 --> 01:02:00,920 he is immensely regretful of the decisions he made, and that nothing will ever 655 01:02:01,119 --> 01:02:09,039 change the damage that he did, and nothing will ever take away the fact 656 01:02:09,039 --> 01:02:17,519 that he murdered three people, and nothing, nothing in my head, will 657 01:02:17,599 --> 01:02:23,760 ever explain. If you can understand why he did what he did, then 658 01:02:24,039 --> 01:02:31,800 you you have some issues, because I cannot understand why anyone would take a 659 01:02:31,880 --> 01:02:37,440 life of a little child, let alone two five month olds. Not surprisingly, 660 01:02:38,239 --> 01:02:44,559 Rush had a history with the law, and it wasn't just traffic violations. 661 01:02:45,719 --> 01:02:52,320 In twenty thirteen, Rush strangled and beat his ex girlfriend after she refused 662 01:02:52,360 --> 01:02:57,480 to have sex with him before work. When he tried to call the police, 663 01:02:57,559 --> 01:03:01,239 he broke her phone and tore off her clothes. She ran outside with 664 01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:07,400 her eight year old daughter and got help from a neighbor. They reported the 665 01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:13,000 incident, and Rush was arrested for domestic battery. He was forced to take 666 01:03:13,079 --> 01:03:19,159 domestic violence awareness training courses through the US Navy. A lot of good that 667 01:03:19,360 --> 01:03:23,719 did. In January of twenty fourteen, six months before Rush met Megan on 668 01:03:23,840 --> 01:03:30,440 Plenty of Fish, another relationship ended in violence. A fight between Rush and 669 01:03:30,559 --> 01:03:37,960 an estrange girlfriend of his escalated to a physical fight. She carried a small 670 01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:42,039 gun for protection, and when he lunged at her, she shot him in 671 01:03:42,079 --> 01:03:47,559 the groin. She was looking at very serious assault charges in jail time until 672 01:03:47,639 --> 01:03:54,320 the prosecution dove into Russia's criminal history. Russia's ex wife, the one whose 673 01:03:54,400 --> 01:04:00,519 belongings Megan had to dispose of before she moved in, was still in hiding. 674 01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:06,639 She wouldn't speak with the media even after Rush was declared dead. But 675 01:04:06,920 --> 01:04:15,760 Megan didn't know any of this, of course, how would she. She 676 01:04:15,880 --> 01:04:23,320 was twenty years old when she met Rush, practically a teenager. The damnage 677 01:04:23,400 --> 01:04:31,119 that Rush did is something that I have to fight with internally because I I 678 01:04:31,199 --> 01:04:35,800 have to be honest to myself, but I also can't let myself get so 679 01:04:36,599 --> 01:04:41,599 poor, miserable Magan. I have three choices when I woke up at the 680 01:04:41,679 --> 01:04:48,440 hospital and as I walked through this earth. One was committing suicide. The 681 01:04:48,599 --> 01:04:55,840 stats when appearing that has lost a child tragically. I think it's over seventy 682 01:04:55,840 --> 01:05:00,039 five in the first five years. So I could have minute suicide and no 683 01:05:00,079 --> 01:05:05,159 one would to blame to me. The second option was poor, pitiful Megan, 684 01:05:05,880 --> 01:05:10,159 woe is me, Megan, the rest of my life, just wanting 685 01:05:10,159 --> 01:05:13,360 a pity party, not doing anything to better my life, not doing anything, 686 01:05:13,840 --> 01:05:17,440 just living life until I die as miserable, and no one would have 687 01:05:17,440 --> 01:05:26,000 blame to me. But then the third option was to take our story and 688 01:05:26,320 --> 01:05:30,199 use it to spread domestic violence awareness. Take our story and make sure that 689 01:05:30,280 --> 01:05:34,159 another mother doesn't have to go through what I went through and what my mother 690 01:05:34,239 --> 01:05:43,039 went through. Russia's murderous, cowardly, active philicide, patricide and domestic violence 691 01:05:43,679 --> 01:05:49,199 didn't just affect the family, he tore apart. His actions made unforgettable waves 692 01:05:49,280 --> 01:05:55,079 to many who witnessed what happened. One of the police officers and friends with 693 01:05:56,159 --> 01:05:59,119 most of the people, most of the rescue team, and the police officers 694 01:05:59,159 --> 01:06:02,960 that were there. One retired. He was like, I'm done. I 695 01:06:03,000 --> 01:06:08,760 can't see anything else. I'm retired. The next week, one of the 696 01:06:08,800 --> 01:06:13,920 police officers will never take a house call ever again. They literally sit in 697 01:06:13,960 --> 01:06:21,360 the office. There's a firefighter, a rescuer now has such severe PTSD that 698 01:06:21,480 --> 01:06:28,199 he cannot function. There's another rescuer who actually lives one street over from the 699 01:06:28,280 --> 01:06:32,760 house where everything happened, and his wife who was there with a newborn baby, 700 01:06:33,719 --> 01:06:39,719 and they can't walk down that street anymore. And I remember seeing them 701 01:06:39,760 --> 01:06:45,639 walk down that street with their stroller and their children, and they can't even 702 01:06:45,199 --> 01:06:50,320 they can't. They can't even walk down that street anymore. My brother, 703 01:06:53,280 --> 01:07:00,360 my brother doesn't have his best friend. He doesn't and he he needed my 704 01:07:00,440 --> 01:07:06,599 dad and she doesn't have that. My brother lives with me and my now 705 01:07:06,679 --> 01:07:15,079 husband, and it's very hard to watch him, knowing why he is the 706 01:07:15,119 --> 01:07:26,400 way. She's just he hates the world. Megan and her brother missed their 707 01:07:26,400 --> 01:07:31,519 father every single day. Megan can't help but wonder how life could have been 708 01:07:31,559 --> 01:07:38,239 different had she known who Rush really was. But she couldn't have stopped this. 709 01:07:39,519 --> 01:07:45,639 Megan was the last in a long line of Russia's female targets. That's 710 01:07:45,719 --> 01:07:51,519 the thing with domestic abusers is you never know when their breaking point is? 711 01:07:51,519 --> 01:07:57,159 Is it with you? Is it after? What? Is it? We 712 01:07:57,239 --> 01:08:02,280 had to be diligent and actually know who we're with to protect ourselves. If 713 01:08:02,360 --> 01:08:06,400 you knew that, all you have did you was go look up their records 714 01:08:06,679 --> 01:08:13,239 and you can do it for free from the counties records, and that you 715 01:08:13,280 --> 01:08:17,720 could save yourself so much turmoil and heartache and possibly save your life. If 716 01:08:18,319 --> 01:08:26,640 he's a domestic balanced abuser, wouldn't you want to? Megan attributes her recovery 717 01:08:27,119 --> 01:08:32,600 to her faith. She knows God kept her alive for a reason. Not 718 01:08:32,760 --> 01:08:36,800 everybody has faith, not everybody believes in God. But that's how I'm surviving 719 01:08:38,319 --> 01:08:42,199 is my faith. That's how I get through every single day is my faith. 720 01:08:42,800 --> 01:08:46,960 Where I am now versus where I was seven years ago? November is 721 01:08:47,119 --> 01:08:55,000 seven years I would have first graders. My kids would be in first grade, 722 01:08:56,960 --> 01:09:00,800 they would be in ballet and gymnastics, and they would they would have 723 01:09:00,840 --> 01:09:04,800 a whole I think that was stolen from them. Rush stole so many things 724 01:09:04,920 --> 01:09:11,800 that day. He stole Megan's father from her family. He stole his baby 725 01:09:11,920 --> 01:09:17,960 daughter's lives. He played God and wanted to shake the world into darkness. 726 01:09:18,000 --> 01:09:24,800 But faith, family, therapy, and love I've gotten Megan to where she 727 01:09:24,960 --> 01:09:31,000 is today. She has left Florida for Texas. She's in school full time 728 01:09:31,039 --> 01:09:38,319 and works in the healthcare field. She hopes to one day have children again. 729 01:09:39,119 --> 01:09:44,760 After her final round of surgeries with the lovely man, she's now married 730 01:09:44,760 --> 01:09:46,920 too. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. When he 731 01:09:47,039 --> 01:09:53,560 came into my life, I was so depressed and so miserable, and I 732 01:09:53,680 --> 01:09:58,680 wasn't showering. And the joke is I loved you when you were smelly, 733 01:09:59,279 --> 01:10:08,680 and so he has showed me so much love and care and I never thought 734 01:10:08,720 --> 01:10:13,640 i'd ever experienced. I didn't even think it was real. So who I 735 01:10:13,680 --> 01:10:19,520 thought was my prince Charming and Rush, who ruined my idea of a relationship. 736 01:10:20,520 --> 01:10:28,479 My husband is my prince charming. Rush changed Megan's life forever, but 737 01:10:28,600 --> 01:10:34,520 it wasn't the way he intended. I was awake every single second until they 738 01:10:34,560 --> 01:10:41,760 put me out with anesthesia in the trauma room, and I knew I was 739 01:10:41,760 --> 01:10:45,359 going to live, and I knew now that I had a purpose, and 740 01:10:45,399 --> 01:10:50,239 that purpose was to share our stories so that women understand how bad it can 741 01:10:50,279 --> 01:10:57,119 get and how severe domestic violences. And you don't have to be physically hit. 742 01:10:57,239 --> 01:11:00,239 I was never physically hit. I had things thrown at me, but 743 01:11:00,319 --> 01:11:03,119 actually his hands coming in contact with my body to physically hit me, that 744 01:11:03,279 --> 01:11:09,359 never happened. Would you try to kill me? And he killed my family 745 01:11:10,520 --> 01:11:14,800 and he wanted to take everything from me and make me watch. So for 746 01:11:14,880 --> 01:11:20,159 the past seven years, I have pen in therapy. I have come up 747 01:11:20,199 --> 01:11:27,600 with the right amount of anxiety and depression moves. I'm still having leg surgeries 748 01:11:27,600 --> 01:11:32,560 to this day. But I know I have a purpose and I know why 749 01:11:32,600 --> 01:11:40,239 I'm here. It's taken years of mental anguish and therapeutic work, but Megan 750 01:11:41,159 --> 01:11:46,039 says she's finally at a place where she can forgive Rush for all that he 751 01:11:46,119 --> 01:11:54,479 did. Megan has made it her life's work to survive and tell her family's 752 01:11:54,560 --> 01:12:00,520 story. She wants the memory of her daughters and her father to live on. 753 01:12:01,920 --> 01:12:09,000 She survived that day to stand as a message to other women suffering like 754 01:12:09,119 --> 01:12:15,319 she was and that message I bring to you today. You out there, 755 01:12:16,399 --> 01:12:26,279 you know who you are. You are not alone. There is help available. 756 01:12:27,680 --> 01:12:34,399 The world is full of good people who want to help you. Reach 757 01:12:34,439 --> 01:12:39,880 out to them. Do it today. I forgive you and I love you 758 01:12:39,920 --> 01:12:46,319 as a child of God. Did I know? I know that. I 759 01:12:46,439 --> 01:12:51,880 know that he's sad about the decision he made, but I forgive you. 760 01:13:29,720 --> 01:13:31,800 Thank you for joining us once again. If you like the show, we 761 01:13:31,840 --> 01:13:34,600 have something called plus. You can find it at Sword and Scale dot com 762 01:13:34,600 --> 01:13:41,399 slash plus. Please subscribe if you can. Until next time, Let stay 763 01:13:41,399 --> 01:14:15,920 safe bike. My name San for Locas Papa. How you fuck me an? 764 01:14:15,239 --> 01:14:20,840 I can listen to episode ten thirty and fucking master can just say this 765 01:14:21,560 --> 01:14:28,439 year the highest award possible. And by the way, you ruined oh other 766 01:14:28,479 --> 01:14:32,079 podcasts for me because this is the only one that just so it has everything. 767 01:14:32,279 --> 01:14:36,119 So thank you for your work, Love you, Appreciate you. I've 768 01:14:36,159 --> 01:15:09,239 been listened U for years now. You're the best fight the