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This story is the fourth in a four-part series on the life and death of Hays resident Karen Schumacher, who died at the hands of her husband in 2022.

Part 1:&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f6fb5eb0-494c-4518-992a-6bffdf7c38c9">A Voice for Karen: Living behind a curtain of silence</a> Part 2:&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/83db8380-36ef-4fae-998f-19d47159e964">A Voice for Karen: Leaving and going back</a> Part 3:&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/a1a463f9-45a3-424b-86b8-1445e2bf2959">A Voice for Karen: He took her away from us; hope for others</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3af7a093-f0d8-4c2e-a1e3-4a31be6c0e7e">SEE RELATED STORY: Hays man who killed wife sentenced to 10 years in prison</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/277704cd-f369-48f7-bfca-bdbdba1e8959">If you are a victim of domestic violence, find help here</a>

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

On April 5, more than two years after Karen Schumacher's death, Jay Schumacher, her husband, entered into a plea agreement on three felony charges in connection to her death.

Although Jay had been originally arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, he agreed to plea no contest to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and mistreatment of a dependent adult.

On all three charges, Jay entered an Alford plea. Under an Alford plea, the defendant does not have to admit to the criminal act and can maintain innocence.&nbsp;

Schumacher was sentenced on Thursday to the maximum allowed under the plea agreement—122 months in prison with credit for almost three years of time served.

Schumacher’s attorneys requested he be placed in custody of the Larned State Correctional Facility for mental health treatment.

Schumacher was evaluated and found to not have a mental illness and did not qualify to serve any of his sentences at Larned.

Jay Schumacher's sister testified at his sentencing, saying his brother was "not a monster."

Jay Schumacher declined to speak on his own behalf during the sentencing. He expressed no emotion during the proceedings.

When the plea agreement was announced, Jeremiah Schumacher, Karen’s son, called the recommended sentence a “slap in the face.”

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3606211c-9893-40e3-b0bf-e1036909f17d">SEE RELATED STORY: Son of woman killed by her husband says plea agreement 'slap in face'</a>

"He beat my mom for 40 years, and you're gonna give him this," Jeremiah told a Hays Post reporter days after the plea agreement was announced. "What he did was not accidental. What he did was quite deliberate. Did he snap? Maybe. Sure. But it wasn't manslaughter."

Jeremiah said the courts should have considered his father’s pattern of violence.&nbsp;

“You would do this for a serial killer, but you won’t do this for a one-off,” Jeremiah said.

“I can tell you how he beat me, beat my mom was a bouncer and beat the hell out of people just at random, and none of that matters?” he said. “None of the things that we witnessed matters.”

“It’s just what happened that day and only that day. That’s not right,” Jeremiah said. “That doesn’t give a victim of 40 years any kind of justice.”

Jay was never arrested or convicted for violence or threats against Karen, Jeremiah or violations of the Karen’s protection from abuse order.

Had Jay been convicted of any prior bad acts, that could have resulted in a longer sentence based on Kansas sentencing guidelines. As the case stands, he had no criminal record before his arrest in connection with Karen's death.

Jeremiah said he felt the systems that were supposed to protect him and his mother had let them down.

“I think the judicial system would have handled my mom’s case better had law enforcement done their jobs,” Jeremiah said.

Kayci, Jeremiah's wife, sat knee to knee with her husband.&nbsp;

“I guarantee if someone did that to a family member of yours, you would want justice. This isn’t OK. It’s wrong,” Kayci said, crying.

Jeremiah; Kayci; Sue, Karen sister; and Scarlett Deutscher,&nbsp;Karen's long-time friend, all gave victim impact statements at the sentencing.

All four said they hoped Jay would be sentenced to more than the 10 years allowed in the plea agreement. They detailed some of the horrors that Karen shared with them about her life with Jay.

Leaving the courtroom after hearing the 10-year sentence, Jeremiah looked physically and emotionally defeated as friends and family attempted to comfort him.

Judge Glenn Braun sentenced Schumacher to the maximum sentence allowed by law based on the charges that Jay Schumacher pleaded to.

Judge Braun, who is set to retire as a full-time judge today, spoke at length about his frustration about how the system failed Karen, who he regarded as a personal friend.

The two met when Karen was a dispatcher and Braun was the Hays city prosecutor.

"She was as she was described here today," Braun said. "She was friendly. She was engaging. She was cooperative. She was hard-working. ... It was a joy and pleasure to know her."

Braun said he heard the words failure of the system.

"They're right," he said. "The system fails victims of domestic abuse all of the time. Why? Because we as a society have not accepted the idea that spouses beat other spouses."

He said every Wednesday, he deals with domestic violence cases in which no contact orders are lifted.

"Repeatedly, I hear 'I want to go back home. It wasn't that bad. It's the cops' fault,'" Braun said.

Police are mandated to arrest and jail offenders because "society is finally starting to recognize that this is a disease, a problem, and it's more pervasive than we ever wanted to believe," Braun said.&nbsp;

He said the O.J. Simpson trial prompted action in America to protect domestic violence victims.

He said two things happened in California after that case hit the news. Domestic violence helplines were flooded, which might be expected.

What was not expected was women leaving domestic shelters and returning to their abusive spouses, saying, 'I can live with being beaten, but my children can't live without me. It's better for my kids to take the beating than to die at the hands of my abuser,'" Braun said.

Braun said people are asking why Karen didn't leave.

"Because when you live in a life of abuse, emotional, physical — when loved ones are threatened, or you believe they are threatened, you do what you have to do to protect them," Braun said.

Braun addressed Jay Schumahcer, saying he bares responsibility for Karen's death, but so does society.

"Did the system fail? Yeah, it did," Braun said. "All these people who stood up here today, they failed too. Could they have done more? Could law enforcement have done more? Maybe. If they had more information. Society failed, and that's what brought us here today."

Braun also addressed the issue of the plea agreement.

He said the judicial system can't function without plea agreements. The courts do not have enough attorneys, prosecutors and judges to take all cases to trial, and the taxpayers aren't willing to pay for the courts to be staffed to do so.

"If every case went to trial, the system would paralyzed, and justice would never be served," Braun said.

He added, "People will walk out and want to blame Mr. Cunningham. They'll want to blame the police officers. They'll want to blame me. Fine. They better look in the mirror, but they share in that blame just like society in general shares in a little bit of the responsibility and blame for the loss of Karen."

Jennifer Hecker, executive director of Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, said domestic violence needs to be considered a community health epidemic. Until it is addressed this way, it will be a problem without a solution, she said.

She said domestic violence is not strictly a personal choice.&nbsp;

"When we think strictly about what's legal and not legal in terms of domestic violence, then all of that responsibility falls on law enforcement or the court system," Hecker said. "There are a lot of elements of domestic violence that are not illegal. The physical violence is illegal, but the many other [aspects] are not."

Hecker said abusers can seize control over finances, isolate victims from friends and family, and inflict mental and emotional abuse. None of this is illegal, yet she said they can be the most devastating to the victim.&nbsp;

"Yes, the system is broken, [and will be] until juries understand the dynamics of domestic violence. There is more we can do to educate our community as a whole around the dynamics and danger around domestic violence," Hecker said.

"I think we need to do more to hold perpetrators accountable for these crimes and to act more swiftly. That is why programs like the lethality assessment protocols are so important because they strengthen the system that will keep people safe."

Hecker said some of the patterns seen in Jay and Karen’s marriage are common in other domestic violence cases. The average victim takes seven to 10 times to leave an abusive relationship and stay gone.

The reasons why abuse victims stay with their abusers are complex. Some of the reasons include a lack of finances, concerns over their children, lack of transportation and lack of housing. Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women with children in the United States.

There also may be pressure from their faith community or family to stay in the relationship or marriage, she said.

The Lethality Assessment Program was implemented in 2024 in Hays. Law enforcement officers ask domestic violence victims a series of questions about their relationship, which helps them assess their risk of being killed by their abuser. The officer then connects them live on the phone with a domestic violence advocate.&nbsp;

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/0e23095e-92ee-4d2d-81df-6b263d4e263f">SEE RELATED STORY: New program seeks to reduce murders in Ellis County</a>

&nbsp;Hecker said, "… victims become so used to minimizing the harm that's happening to them so they can survive it emotionally and mentally so they can attempt some healing for themselves," Hecker said. "But with that often come blinders about how much more violent and dangerous that situation is becoming."

Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said he believes the police have been more successful in helping victims of domestic violence get the assistance that they need using the assessment.

 "At the Hays Police Department, we know that in our community, you are more likely to be killed or seriously injured by a person that says 'they love you' or that 'they care for you' than you are by a stranger. 

"We know that by the time domestic violence is reported to law enforcement, the violence has already occurred multiple times. So, it is vital for the safety of the victim that once we become aware of the violence that we do all we can to get them help."

Scheibler added he also believes the Lethality Assessment Program helps law enforcement better document the situation, which will allow the prosecutors and the courts to make better-informed decisions in the handling of criminal cases involving the abusers.

Scheibler said he favors a holistic approach to preventing domestic violence.

"We cannot miss the opportunity to help the victims when they ask for assistance. Trauma-informed approaches by law enforcement, such as the Lethality Assessment Program, will be vital moving forward," he said.

Scheibler also knew Karen personally from her time working as a dispatcher. He said he has struggled with why Karen never reported the abuse to one of her co-workers.

"It is important for people to understand that Karen was a beautiful person. She came to work every day with a smile on her face. She was kind, companionate and a joy to be around. She was quick to smile and quick to laugh," Scheibler said.

"Karen did not look or act like a victim of domestic violence, and to my knowledge, she never told her supervisors the abuse she was facing at home. &nbsp;As a dispatcher, she would have known what our response was going be to her reporting that she was a victim of domestic violence, &nbsp;so I can only speculate why she didn't."

Unfortunately, Karen's being in the law enforcement profession may have made it more difficult for her to ask for help, Scheibler said.

"Law enforcement is the solver of community problems. When people are in crisis or need help, they call us, and we respond," Scheibler said.&nbsp; "First responders excel at helping others but often struggle to ask for help. By the time she began working in the law enforcement field, she had already been in an abusive relationship for almost 20 years. 

"She may have normalized the abuse, which is common for victims. The most tragic thing about why victims of domestic violence often don't report the abuse is that their abuser is the person that they love."

He added, "Knowing what I know now about Karen's situation, I suspect she enjoyed coming to work at the law enforcement center as it was a place that she could go to and feel safe. Nobody was going to hurt her while she was here. I wish we had known Karen needed our help, and we could have intervened."

Unlike Judge Braun, Scheibler said he did not blame&nbsp;Karen, her family and friends, co-workers, or society for Karen's death.

"The blame for her death and the abuse she suffered falls totally upon her abuser," he said. "I am proud of the work of the Hays Police Department did in bringing him to justice and holding him accountable for the horrific things he did to Karen. He has been found guilty in a court of law and sentenced to prison; it just doesn’t feel like it is enough."

Hecker said community members need to understand the far reach of domestic violence in the community and its lasting effects on families.

“That is so important to understand that there is a ripple effect to domestic and sexual violence that impacts not just the victim but everyone in their circle. It’s like dropping a rock in a pond,” she said.

For victims who survive the abuse, there are lasting physical, psychological and financial effects.

"It can be a lifetime or decades of financial instability because they are trying to get back on their feet," Hecker said. "Getting access to mental health care is expensive, and there are financial aspects of the physical abuse. They're paying medical bills."

Hecker said these burdens often result in housing instability for the survivor and their children.

The brain development of children who witness violence is also affected.

“For children, it creates a sense of mistrust in their family. ‘I can’t trust the parent who’s hurting us, and I can’t trust the parent who’s not protecting us,'" Hecker said.

Jeremiah said the violence in his home has definitely affected him. Trust is a significant issue.

"I also put up a lot of walls. I've gotten a lot better throughout the years just because I got away from it, but there are always things," he said.

“I can’t hear the sound of a belt snapping. If you put leather together — that sound freaks me out to this day. [Kayci] can attest to it. I lose it.” Jeremiah said.

Kayci said, touching Jeremiah’s knee, “Our kids think it's funny because they don’t know what he went through. I have to try to explain to them.”

Jeremiah said even being in a loud room unsettles him.

“Me losing it or becoming more upset that I need to because my kids are being loud ... because if I was loud, I was going to get the hell beat out of me,” Jeremiah said.

Losing his mother made things even worse.

“I know it really, really, really screwed with my mind,” he said. “I know I can’t focus anymore. It’s hard to focus on things. Then, the hyper fixation on things. It’s like all of a sudden, I got huge ADHD,” Jeremiah said.

“I’m trying to be a better person, trying to be someone who my mom would be proud of. I don’t know. It’s just hard in general,” he said.

Hecker said the first thing loved ones can do to help a domestic violence victim is to believe them.&nbsp;

A Voice for Karen: 'A slap in the face,' hope for others

This story is the second in a four-part series on the life and death of Hays resident Karen Schumacher, who died at the hands of her husband in 2022.

Part 1:&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f6fb5eb0-494c-4518-992a-6bffdf7c38c9">A Voice for Karen: Living behind a curtain of silence</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3af7a093-f0d8-4c2e-a1e3-4a31be6c0e7e">Hays man who killed wife sentenced to 10 years in prison</a>

Karen Schumacher died at the hands of her husband in March 2022 after years of abuse.

Now, two years after her death, her friends and family are looking at her attempts to leave her abusive relationship and what kept drawing her back in.

Even in the early years of their marriage, Jay, Karen's husband, was physically violent with Karen, according to her friends and family.

Karen told her son, Jeremiah, that if she died, it would be by Jay's hands, and she had left proof in the couple's home.

Police searched Jay and Karen's home after Karen's death. Much later, Jeremiah searched the house and found hidden letters that chronicled the abuse dating back to his parents' early marriage.

In one of the letters, Karen describes Jay throwing her against the basement floor. She says she is disappointed in him and that if he does this again, she will leave him "FOREVER."

Karen's sister, Sue, initially thought the fights between Karen and Jay were only verbal. Yet, she said Karen still repeatedly tried to leave Jay throughout their marriage.

Sue said Karen drove more than an hour to Sue's home, first in Salina and then in Newton, intending to leave Jay.

"She would panic and say, 'I've got to get back before he gets home from work,' just scared to death. She would drive all the way there for maybe an hour and turn around and drive home. She did that a couple of times when I lived in Newton."

Karen left Jay to stay at the domestic violence shelter many times, Sue said, but she kept going back to Jay.

"She would miss her pets and wonder how they were doing," she said. "One of his controls, Jay, was to strangle cats, throw cats against the wall, kill her cats, take them out in the country and shoot them in front of her.

"[He would say,] 'If you ever leave me, this is what will happen to you. I will hunt you down like the dog you are and kill you.' We believed that. My husband and I believed it. She believed it," Sue said.

"When Jeremiah lived at home, he would threaten Jeremiah. 'I will torture him in front of you. I will kill him and then kill you and kill me,'" Sue said of Jay's words to Karen.

"Then, when Jeremiah left, it turned to me. 'I will kill your sister. You'll have to watch. I'll kill you and then kill me,'" Sue said of Jay's words.

Jeremiah said he was frustrated with his mother for not leaving his father.

“Then I saw what happened any time she tried,” he said.

Jeremiah moved out of his parents' house when he was 19. He initially thought the abuse stopped. "Because I was told I was the reason," he said.

“If we did something he didn’t like, it was bad, man,” Jeremiah said.

Sue said Karen would call her and tell her Jay was on the porch.

“I would call the police, and they would say, ‘We’ll talk to him,'” Sue said. “[This happened] 20 times or so.”

“She went directly to the police and said he’s hitting me,” Jeremiah said.

By this time, Jeremiah said, her memory was scrambled.&nbsp;

She was going to the police station two to three times a week,&nbsp;Jeremiah said.

"They would just take her back to the house and say, 'Jay, she says you're hitting her.' 'Oh no, she doesn't know what she's talking about,' [Jay would say] and in she'd go," Jeremiah said.

When Karen was living in Victoria, she filed a protection from abuse order against Jay.

Jay owned a number of guns and voluntarily placed them in the hands of the Victoria Police as he was barred from possessing firearms under the order, according to Victoria Police records.

By the time the protection from abuse order was in place in about 2016, Victoria Police Chief Cole Dinkel said Karen's mental health had deteriorated significantly.

Sue was driving from Newton in an attempt to take care of her sister, who was living alone with Jay out of the house because of the protection from abuse order.

Police reports from the time said Karen often forgot to shower. Her house and clothes also smelled of cat urine as she struggled to care for her home and her animals.

Dinkel said Karen reported abuse, but they were instances that had happened years early. There were never any visible marks on her, and she never called while the alleged violence was occurring, he said. She also made reports and then refused to press charges days later, according to reports from that time.

Karen was taken to Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, and that organization brought her back to Victoria, Dinkel said.

Dinkel said he did not have enough evidence to arrest Jay.

"You can't take a man's freedom on a hunch," Dinkel said.

Dinkel said there was one instance in which Jay showed up at the couple's home in Victoria to deliver groceries. The protection from abuse order was in effect, so Dinkel asked Jay to leave. He gave Jay a warning, and Jay left. A report was filed, but no charges.

Dinkel worked with Karen when she was a dispatcher in Hays. He said he regarded her as a friend and tried to get her help. The Department of Children and Families and the Ellis County Attorney's Office were both contacted in regard to Karen. Dinkel said he hoped to establish a care and treatment case.

However, Charlene Brubaker of the Ellis County Attorney's Office said Karen needed someone to serve as her guardian. Sue said she was interested in establishing a power of attorney for Karen, but Dinkel said Karen resisted, telling him she was afraid her sister would institutionalize her.&nbsp;

In 2016, Karen and Jay jointly requested the protection from abuse order to be lifted.

In a report from that time, Dinkel wrote that Karen asked him, "Am I doing the right thing?"

Dinkel said he has no regrets and expressed frustration that he and his colleagues are now being portrayed as "bad guys." He said because Karen was his friend, he went above and beyond to try to help her.

"The entire situation was a mess from the start to the finish," he said.

He added, "You can only help a person as much as they want help. Karen took three steps back for every one step forward."

Jeremiah said he was reluctant to work with the Victoria Police Department because of his father's relationship with them, although Dinkel said he was no more than Jay's acquaintance.

 Jeremiah said, “I never tried to report the abuse because my dad had very good friends in the police department, and frankly, we knew it would get back to him.

&nbsp;“I couldn’t afford to put my family through the possibility of what he might do,” Jeremiah  said.

“I was terrified of him. We all were,” he said.

Sue said she also called the Hays Police Department, where Karen had worked as a dispatcher. They said they could not do anything because Karen and Jay lived outside of their jurisdiction in Victoria.

After years of abuse, Karen's body and brain showed the effects.

She began forgetting things. It was hard for her to care for herself. Jay claimed she had dementia.&nbsp;

"It was hard to watch. You would never think she was that age. You had to help her learn how to make a plate of food because she didn't know how to do it," Kayci, Jeremiah's wife, said.

At one point, Karen wandered away from her house. Jay was on the road, so the police called Jeremiah to assist his mom.

Jeremiah and Kayci told Jay they would help care for Karen.

“If you can’t deal with this, maybe you should put her in a home or something,” Jeremiah said.

"'I ain't putting her in a Goddamn home, and I'm not paying for that shit,'" Jay told Jeremiah. "'I'll take care of your mom.'"

Karen separated from Jay about five years before her death. She filed for divorce.

Sue sought the opinion of a neurologist who diagnosed brain damage due to repeated head injuries.&nbsp;

Because of Karen's declining health, Sue was trying to gain guardianship.

However, Karen had left beloved pets at the house she shared with Jay. She went back to Jay one last and final time. She dropped the divorce filing.

Jay's control over Karen's life tightened even more. Jeremiah said she was no longer allowed to have keys to a vehicle or a cell phone.

Although Jay allowed Karen to attend some family functions with him present, he completely cut off contact between Jeremiah, his wife and children, and Sue, Jeremiah and Sue said.

Jeremiah said he only saw his mother twice in the years leading up to her death when he bumped into his parents at a store.

“He 100 percent isolated her, at least from us,” Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah would see Facebook posts of his mother in the hospital. He tried to contact his father to find out his mother's condition. Jay would not respond.

"It was his life. Her life that she had that she created, it was over," Kayci, Jeremiah's wife, said.

Scarlett Deutscher, Karen's longtime friend, saw her friend occasionally in the community, but she wasn't the same.&nbsp;

She would forget things,&nbsp;Deutscher said.

She recalled seeing Jay and Karen at a local convenience store.

"I feel bad about it, now looking back," she said. "I would see them every now and again. He said, 'Yeah, Karen's in the car.' I went to the car to go say hi to her. She just wasn't there. I could look into her eyes. I could still make contact with her, and she would kind of look at me and smile."

Deutscher&nbsp;said she thought Jay had finally stepped up to take care of Karen.

"But it was all a big lie he told a best friend," she said, "but I believed it. I believed him that he was taking care of her when, in essence, he wasn't. He was beatin' her. He was being very cruel to her. He was not taking care of her as she should be as a dependent."

“As someone you love. You just don’t do that,” she said.

Editor's note: Scarlett Deutscher is an employee of Eagle Media, which is the parent company of the Hays Post.

If you are a survivor of domestic or sexual violence, you can receive help in a variety of ways. You can walk into an Options office at 2716 Plaza, Hays, or&nbsp;1480 W. Fourth, Colby.&nbsp; You can call Options' 24-hour helpline at 1-800-794-4624 or text HOPE to 847411.

The Options website,&nbsp;<a href="https://help4abuse.org/">https://help4abuse.org/</a>, offers a live chat option or video conference with an advocate.

The website has a safe escape button that allows you to quickly close out of the website and erase your cookies, so anyone who is on the computer after you will not be able to see that you have been on the website.

Options has a free app for Android and Apple devices called "My Mobile Options."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732649972148.jpeg" alt="Graphics and video by Jordan Schaffer" />
 <figcaption>Graphics and video by Jordan Schaffer</figcaption>
 </figure>This story is the second in a four-part series on the life and death of Hays resident Karen Schumacher, who died at the hands of her husband in 2022.Part 1:&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f6fb5eb0-494c-4518-992a-6bffdf7c38c9">A Voice for Karen: Living behind a curtain of silence</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3af7a093-f0d8-4c2e-a1e3-4a31be6c0e7e">Hays man who killed wife sentenced to 10 years in prison</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/277704cd-f369-48f7-bfca-bdbdba1e8959">If you are a victim of domestic violence, find help here</a><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M51p3FJ7UH4?si=UwR3rIrZLIfRlLOB" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostKaren Schumacher died at the hands of her husband in March 2022 after years of abuse.Now, two years after her death, her friends and family are looking at her attempts to leave her abusive relationship and what kept drawing her back in.Even in the early years of their marriage, Jay, Karen's husband, was physically violent with Karen, according to her friends and family.Karen told her son, Jeremiah, that if she died, it would be by Jay's hands, and she had left proof in the couple's home.Police searched Jay and Karen's home after Karen's death. Much later, Jeremiah searched the house and found hidden letters that chronicled the abuse dating back to his parents' early marriage.In one of the letters, Karen describes Jay throwing her against the basement floor. She says she is disappointed in him and that if he does this again, she will leave him "FOREVER."<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TmjnmQJJ4w8?si=MNS1zOz27EUSiLC6" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><h2>Leaving and going back</h2>Karen's sister, Sue, initially thought the fights between Karen and Jay were only verbal. Yet, she said Karen still repeatedly tried to leave Jay throughout their marriage.Sue said Karen drove more than an hour to Sue's home, first in Salina and then in Newton, intending to leave Jay."She would panic and say, 'I've got to get back before he gets home from work,' just scared to death. She would drive all the way there for maybe an hour and turn around and drive home. She did that a couple of times when I lived in Newton."Karen left Jay to stay at the domestic violence shelter many times, Sue said, but she kept going back to Jay."She would miss her pets and wonder how they were doing," she said. "One of his controls, Jay, was to strangle cats, throw cats against the wall, kill her cats, take them out in the country and shoot them in front of her."[He would say,] 'If you ever leave me, this is what will happen to you. I will hunt you down like the dog you are and kill you.' We believed that. My husband and I believed it. She believed it," Sue said."When Jeremiah lived at home, he would threaten Jeremiah. 'I will torture him in front of you. I will kill him and then kill you and kill me,'" Sue said of Jay's words to Karen."Then, when Jeremiah left, it turned to me. 'I will kill your sister. You'll have to watch. I'll kill you and then kill me,'" Sue said of Jay's words.Jeremiah said he was frustrated with his mother for not leaving his father.“Then I saw what happened any time she tried,” he said.Jeremiah moved out of his parents' house when he was 19. He initially thought the abuse stopped. "Because I was told I was the reason," he said.“If we did something he didn’t like, it was bad, man,” Jeremiah said.<h2>Not enough evidence</h2>Sue said Karen would call her and tell her Jay was on the porch.“I would call the police, and they would say, ‘We’ll talk to him,'” Sue said. “[This happened] 20 times or so.”“She went directly to the police and said he’s hitting me,” Jeremiah said.By this time, Jeremiah said, her memory was scrambled.&nbsp;She was going to the police station two to three times a week,&nbsp;Jeremiah said."They would just take her back to the house and say, 'Jay, she says you're hitting her.' 'Oh no, she doesn't know what she's talking about,' [Jay would say] and in she'd go," Jeremiah said.When Karen was living in Victoria, she filed a protection from abuse order against Jay.Jay owned a number of guns and voluntarily placed them in the hands of the Victoria Police as he was barred from possessing firearms under the order, according to Victoria Police records.By the time the protection from abuse order was in place in about 2016, Victoria Police Chief Cole Dinkel said Karen's mental health had deteriorated significantly. Sue was driving from Newton in an attempt to take care of her sister, who was living alone with Jay out of the house because of the protection from abuse order.Police reports from the time said Karen often forgot to shower. Her house and clothes also smelled of cat urine as she struggled to care for her home and her animals.Dinkel said Karen reported abuse, but they were instances that had happened years early. There were never any visible marks on her, and she never called while the alleged violence was occurring, he said. She also made reports and then refused to press charges days later, according to reports from that time.Karen was taken to Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, and that organization brought her back to Victoria, Dinkel said.Dinkel said he did not have enough evidence to arrest Jay."You can't take a man's freedom on a hunch," Dinkel said.Dinkel said there was one instance in which Jay showed up at the couple's home in Victoria to deliver groceries. The protection from abuse order was in effect, so Dinkel asked Jay to leave. He gave Jay a warning, and Jay left. A report was filed, but no charges.Dinkel worked with Karen when she was a dispatcher in Hays. He said he regarded her as a friend and tried to get her help. The Department of Children and Families and the Ellis County Attorney's Office were both contacted in regard to Karen. Dinkel said he hoped to establish a care and treatment case.However, Charlene Brubaker of the Ellis County Attorney's Office said Karen needed someone to serve as her guardian. Sue said she was interested in establishing a power of attorney for Karen, but Dinkel said Karen resisted, telling him she was afraid her sister would institutionalize her.&nbsp;In 2016, Karen and Jay jointly requested the protection from abuse order to be lifted.In a report from that time, Dinkel wrote that Karen asked him, "Am I doing the right thing?"Dinkel said he has no regrets and expressed frustration that he and his colleagues are now being portrayed as "bad guys." He said because Karen was his friend, he went above and beyond to try to help her."The entire situation was a mess from the start to the finish," he said.He added, "You can only help a person as much as they want help. Karen took three steps back for every one step forward."Jeremiah said he was reluctant to work with the Victoria Police Department because of his father's relationship with them, although Dinkel said he was no more than Jay's acquaintance. Jeremiah said, “I never tried to report the abuse because my dad had very good friends in the police department, and frankly, we knew it would get back to him.&nbsp;“I couldn’t afford to put my family through the possibility of what he might do,” Jeremiah said.“I was terrified of him. We all were,” he said.Sue said she also called the Hays Police Department, where Karen had worked as a dispatcher. They said they could not do anything because Karen and Jay lived outside of their jurisdiction in Victoria.<h2>Brain damage</h2>After years of abuse, Karen's body and brain showed the effects.She began forgetting things. It was hard for her to care for herself. Jay claimed she had dementia.&nbsp;"It was hard to watch. You would never think she was that age. You had to help her learn how to make a plate of food because she didn't know how to do it," Kayci, Jeremiah's wife, said.At one point, Karen wandered away from her house. Jay was on the road, so the police called Jeremiah to assist his mom.Jeremiah and Kayci told Jay they would help care for Karen.“If you can’t deal with this, maybe you should put her in a home or something,” Jeremiah said."'I ain't putting her in a Goddamn home, and I'm not paying for that shit,'" Jay told Jeremiah. "'I'll take care of your mom.'"Karen separated from Jay about five years before her death. She filed for divorce.Sue sought the opinion of a neurologist who diagnosed brain damage due to repeated head injuries.&nbsp;Because of Karen's declining health, Sue was trying to gain guardianship.However, Karen had left beloved pets at the house she shared with Jay. She went back to Jay one last and final time. She dropped the divorce filing.Jay's control over Karen's life tightened even more. Jeremiah said she was no longer allowed to have keys to a vehicle or a cell phone.Although Jay allowed Karen to attend some family functions with him present, he completely cut off contact between Jeremiah, his wife and children, and Sue, Jeremiah and Sue said.Jeremiah said he only saw his mother twice in the years leading up to her death when he bumped into his parents at a store.“He 100 percent isolated her, at least from us,” Jeremiah said.Jeremiah would see Facebook posts of his mother in the hospital. He tried to contact his father to find out his mother's condition. Jay would not respond."It was his life. Her life that she had that she created, it was over," Kayci, Jeremiah's wife, said.Scarlett Deutscher, Karen's longtime friend, saw her friend occasionally in the community, but she wasn't the same.&nbsp;She would forget things,&nbsp;Deutscher said.She recalled seeing Jay and Karen at a local convenience store."I feel bad about it, now looking back," she said. "I would see them every now and again. He said, 'Yeah, Karen's in the car.' I went to the car to go say hi to her. She just wasn't there. I could look into her eyes. I could still make contact with her, and she would kind of look at me and smile."Deutscher&nbsp;said she thought Jay had finally stepped up to take care of Karen."But it was all a big lie he told a best friend," she said, "but I believed it. I believed him that he was taking care of her when, in essence, he wasn't. He was beatin' her. He was being very cruel to her. He was not taking care of her as she should be as a dependent."“As someone you love. You just don’t do that,” she said.Editor's note: Scarlett Deutscher is an employee of Eagle Media, which is the parent company of the Hays Post.<h2>How to get help</h2>If you are a survivor of domestic or sexual violence, you can receive help in a variety of ways. You can walk into an Options office at 2716 Plaza, Hays, or&nbsp;1480 W. Fourth, Colby.&nbsp; You can call Options' 24-hour helpline at 1-800-794-4624 or text HOPE to 847411.The Options website,&nbsp;<a href="https://help4abuse.org/">https://help4abuse.org/</a>, offers a live chat option or video conference with an advocate.The website has a safe escape button that allows you to quickly close out of the website and erase your cookies, so anyone who is on the computer after you will not be able to see that you have been on the website.Options has a free app for Android and Apple devices called "My Mobile Options."

A Voice for Karen: Leaving and going back

As the new year approaches, it is a time of reflection.

As we close out the year and look ahead to 2025, here is a look back at the top 10 local Hays Post stories from 2024.

10. Hays man seriously injured in incident outside bar

A Hays resident was hospitalized with a serious head injury after an altercation outside of the Sip 'N' Spin, 209 W. 10th, Hays, early Jan.21.

Damien L. Wood, 19, of Bosque, New Mexico, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery, said Deputy Hays Police Chief Brian Dawson.

A 35-year-old Hays man was taken to HaysMed with a head injury and then flown to KU Medical Center in Kansas City.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/1b6d928b-12a4-482b-a583-e5613a0dcc2e">SEE RELATED STORY: Hays man seriously injured outside bar</a>

9. LGBTQ+ inclusion Glitter+Ash event on FHSU campus sparks backlash

An event that combined ashes and glitter to celebrate Ash Wednesday sparked a backlash in the Hays community.

Fort Hays State University students or members of the public were able to be blessed with the traditional ashes or ashes mixed with glitter at the Memorial Union.

Organizers billed the event as a means to foster inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community.

More than 200 people commented on a Facebook posting on the event. Some comments were supportive, and&nbsp;other community members expressed outrage.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/ff4ed31a-2c69-4d33-9b90-9a0d46d1c675">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;LGBTQ+ inclusion Glitter+Ash event on FHSU campus sparks backlash</a>

8. Man from Hays dies after pickup, semi crash

A man from Hays died in an accident just before 9 p.m. Dec. 17 in Ellis County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Toyota Tundra driven by&nbsp; &nbsp;Brandon L.&nbsp; Frick, 40, Hays, was southbound on U.S. 183 at Munjor Road.

The pickup crossed the center line and struck a northbound semi driven by Jesse W. Crum, 34, Colorado. After impact, both vehicles traveled into the west ditch and came to rest on their wheels.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/2c7bee46-550f-486a-8134-1348b8fa9f4c">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Man from Hays dies after pickup semi crash</a>

7. 48 Hours to feature Hays death: 'Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind'

A woman who lived in Hays was found dying from a gunshot wound. Evidence at the scene did not add up. Prosecutors came up with a new way—they say—to find out what really happened.

On April 27 on KWCH, Erin Moriarty Reported in “48 Hours: Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind."&nbsp;

In the early morning hours of Halloween 2019 in Hays, Colby Trickle called 911 and said he woke up to his ears ringing and saw his wife, Kristen Trickle, bleeding next to him in the bed.

Since authorities were divided on the evidence they saw at the crime scene, they tried something new and ordered a very different type of autopsy, an autopsy of Kristen Trickle’s mind.

That investigation eventually led from what Colby Trickle said was suicide to&nbsp;Colby's conviction in his wife's death.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4c33423c-1f63-4d7b-98ec-a4ded347e85e">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;48 Hours to feature Hays Death’ Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind’</a>

As the new year approaches, it is a time of reflection.As we close out the year and look ahead to 2025, here is a look back at the top 10 local Hays Post stories from 2024.<h2>10. Hays man seriously injured in incident outside bar</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734971456233.png" alt="Wood-photo Ellis Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Wood-photo Ellis Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>A Hays resident was hospitalized with a serious head injury after an altercation outside of the Sip 'N' Spin, 209 W. 10th, Hays, early Jan.21.Damien L. Wood, 19, of Bosque, New Mexico, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery, said Deputy Hays Police Chief Brian Dawson.A 35-year-old Hays man was taken to HaysMed with a head injury and then flown to KU Medical Center in Kansas City.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/1b6d928b-12a4-482b-a583-e5613a0dcc2e">SEE RELATED STORY: Hays man seriously injured outside bar</a><h2>9. LGBTQ+ inclusion Glitter+Ash event on FHSU campus sparks backlash</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734971817147.jpeg" alt="Jaelyn Sutter, FHSU student and member of Us4U, receives ashes on Ash Wednesday from Pastor Ben Houchen of the St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Hays during a Glitter+Ash event at the FHSU Memorial Union. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Jaelyn Sutter, FHSU student and member of Us4U, receives ashes on Ash Wednesday from Pastor Ben Houchen of the St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Hays during a Glitter+Ash event at the FHSU Memorial Union. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>An event that combined ashes and glitter to celebrate Ash Wednesday sparked a backlash in the Hays community.Fort Hays State University students or members of the public were able to be blessed with the traditional ashes or ashes mixed with glitter at the Memorial Union.Organizers billed the event as a means to foster inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community.More than 200 people commented on a Facebook posting on the event. Some comments were supportive, and&nbsp;other community members expressed outrage.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/ff4ed31a-2c69-4d33-9b90-9a0d46d1c675">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;LGBTQ+ inclusion Glitter+Ash event on FHSU campus sparks backlash</a><h2>8. Man from Hays dies after pickup, semi crash</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665405753233.png" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>A man from Hays died in an accident just before 9 p.m. Dec. 17 in Ellis County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Toyota Tundra driven by&nbsp; &nbsp;Brandon L.&nbsp; Frick, 40, Hays, was southbound on U.S. 183 at Munjor Road.The pickup crossed the center line and struck a northbound semi driven by Jesse W. Crum, 34, Colorado. After impact, both vehicles traveled into the west ditch and came to rest on their wheels.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/2c7bee46-550f-486a-8134-1348b8fa9f4c">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Man from Hays dies after pickup semi crash</a><h2>7. 48 Hours to feature Hays death: 'Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind'</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734972232571.png" alt="Kristen Trickle courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kristen Trickle courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>A woman who lived in Hays was found dying from a gunshot wound. Evidence at the scene did not add up. Prosecutors came up with a new way—they say—to find out what really happened.On April 27 on KWCH, Erin Moriarty Reported in “48 Hours: Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind."&nbsp;In the early morning hours of Halloween 2019 in Hays, Colby Trickle called 911 and said he woke up to his ears ringing and saw his wife, Kristen Trickle, bleeding next to him in the bed.Since authorities were divided on the evidence they saw at the crime scene, they tried something new and ordered a very different type of autopsy, an autopsy of Kristen Trickle’s mind.That investigation eventually led from what Colby Trickle said was suicide to&nbsp;Colby's conviction in his wife's death.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4c33423c-1f63-4d7b-98ec-a4ded347e85e">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;48 Hours to feature Hays Death’ Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind’</a><h2>6. Grow Hays announces new shopping center project north of I-70</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734972432784.jpeg" alt="Proposed location of a new shopping center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Proposed location of a new shopping center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Grow Hays has contracted to purchase 9.1 acres of land north of Home Depot in Hays. They hope to construct a new shopping center on the land.The land is north of Interstate 70 on East 41st Street.Doug Williams, director of Grow Hays, said&nbsp;multiple big-box retailers have expressed interest in Hays.Williams estimated the new shopping center would generate $20 million in annual sales, which would generate $600,000 combined annually in additional sales tax for the city of Hays, Ellis County and the Hays USD 489 bond issue.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/68c83702-3486-4109-b74f-2a7ee851a4fe">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Grow Hays announces new shopping center</a><h2>5. Hays infant's death</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734973706234.jpeg" alt="Fernando Leon" />
 <figcaption>Fernando Leon</figcaption>
 </figure>Ellis County law enforcement authorities investigated the death of a 5-month-old boy who died on April 2 in Hays.28-year-old Abraham Duran Leon of Hays was arrested on June 17 in connection with the death of his son, Fernando Leon.An autopsy report revealed the child had methamphetamine in his system and died from complications related to methamphetamine intoxication.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b3e788cd-7e44-4409-a2e4-07584c0e793a">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Hays infant’s death still under investigation</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b82bb20e-49b1-41cf-bf36-fb0b29acf58a">SEE RELATED STORY: Arrest made in Hays infant death investigation</a> <h2>4. Love's store location in Hays to be put up for sale</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734973901986.jpeg" alt="Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Love's Country Store, 2500 Vine, Hays, closed this week after being in operation in that location since the late 1970s."Love's made the business decision to close its country store in Hays, Kansas, effective May 7, 2024. This store was opened in the late 1970s, and customer demand for the country store model has decreased in recent years," said&nbsp;Tracey Budz, Love's director of corporate communications, in an email.Love’s is planning to put the property on the market for sale, Budz said.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5fe47100-3d66-44bb-97b3-25aceb8379e3">SEE RELATED STORY: UPDATE: Love's store location in Hays to be put up for sale</a><h2>3. Teen killed in Ellis County accident</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614390375120.png" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>A 16-year-old was killed in a rollover accident southwest of Hays in the early morning hours of Oct. 5.In a press release, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun said the accident was reported at about 12:30 a.m. near 230th Avenue and Spring Hill Road.Braun said the teen was one of four teenagers in the car that left the roadway and rolled.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/2eab323d-7e99-4dea-878c-9c3087e74868">SEE RELATED STORY: Teen killed in Ellis County accident</a><h2>2. Hays man arrested for battery after choking victim</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734974135428.png" alt="Amrein photo Ellis County Jail" />
 <figcaption>Amrein photo Ellis County Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>A man was arrested in Hays on Sept. 21 for aggravated battery after reportedly choking another man until he lost consciousness.Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said that 19-year-old Aiden Amrein was arrested and booked into the Ellis County Jail following an altercation with another man.Scheibler said Amrein got on the back of the alleged victim while they were on the ground and placed him in a chokehold until the victim lost consciousness.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/78986be0-0dfe-405f-b2a7-d971a3fe7459">SEE RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Hays man arrested for battery after choking victim</a><h2>1. HaysMed losses $5M; current, former staff express concerns about care, administration</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592337955905.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>The No. 1 Hays Post story of 2024 is not a single story but a series of stories and letters to the editor dating back to August. Doctors and staff at HaysMed began expressing concern about HaysMed administration and the loss of medical staff in August. Dr. Jerod Grove, HaysMed surgeon, announced he was leaving the hospital in November.He was followed by Dr. Robert Rodriguez, an oncologist.Both doctors filed lawsuits in federal court against the hospital, alleging the noncompete clauses in their contracts are too broad and will harm patients' access to medical care in western Kansas.&nbsp;HaysMed administrators said noncompete clauses in medical staff members' contracts are standard practice. The hospital has countersued the doctors.According to Grove's lawsuit, HaysMed has lost 12 physicians, two certified registered nurse anesthetists, and three midlevel providers. None of these have remained in the region and provide services to the residents of the state's western half.As of Dec. 12, the doctors announced they were trying to resolve their contract disputes with the hospital amicably.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/a32ac3e2-3d3b-4a77-94b3-9e455da465e1">HaysMed losses $5M, current, former staff express concerns about care, administration</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/a05ca048-415e-412f-bcea-55ff325a76b9">SEE RELATED STORY: Second doctor sues HaysMed over noncompete clause in contract</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b34af9aa-1485-42c1-a272-afe7c74a36fb">SEE RELATED STORY: Doctor files lawsuit against HaysMed, seeks to continue practicing in western Kansas</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/ff47d31e-0893-42cc-9d64-36235a52511f">SEE RELATED STORY: LETTER: Oncologist announces resignation from HaysMed</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/6dbff5d6-d29e-4959-b974-b6e39d502851">SEE RELATED STORY: Doctors share concerns on administration, future of HaysMed</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/a32ac3e2-3d3b-4a77-94b3-9e455da465e1"></a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/2be22ca4-173c-464f-b507-918c1bbcc5a8">SEE RELATED STORY: HaysMed administrators respond to challenges facing hospital</a>