Marsha’s husband promised to build her a house so that they could move out of the trailer they lived in on Pine Cove Campgrounds. He did odd jobs around the community during the day while Marsha cared for his adopted disabled daughter, Nicki, and their younger daughter, Zoe. However, the couple wasn’t making enough money and accrued a considerable amount of debt. So, when he gave Marsha an ultimatum about co-signing for a house in Dover, TN, she said no. “His face got red, and he balled up his fist. I was afraid. I didn’t know if he was going to hit me.” He stormed out and sat in his car. The next morning he was gone.

Later the next day, he showed up again. He had drained their joint bank account and now was trying to take his adopted daughter, Nicki, away from Marsha, who had been her primary caregiver since adolescence. He pulled her by her hair so roughly that he ripped it out of her scalp. When she refused to leave with him, he threatened to beat her with a tire iron. Marsha had another son in Dover. She heard later that he had also been physically attacked by her husband earlier in the day and was in the process of getting an order of protection. Marsha contacted the Legal Aid Society to do the same for Nicki and herself. The judge granted her an order of protection.

Her husband was well-liked around the small community. He knew everyone’s name, did small odd jobs for people without being asked, and even had a regular seat next to the police chief in Church. It was no surprise that when he asked their landlord to check Marsha’s storage for his C-PAC machine, that she obliged. The landlord didn’t believe Marsha when she told her that his C-PAC was not in the storage unit, but she wouldn’t let it go. Marsha rightfully called the Sheriff to enforce her order of protection, which forbids third-party contact. In response, her landlord served her with an eviction which read, “I do not want the Sheriff called here because of your drama. I asked you a question and this is what happens, there was no need for this. There are other complaints, but it doesn’t matter now.”