PANAMA CITY — Emergency personnel and neighbors surrounded Nancy Helms as she looked up at them, bleeding and drifting in and out of consciousness.
She had just fought for her life for more than four hours in her Fountain home. She had been beaten and strangled, her head slammed on the concrete, after her live-in boyfriend, 63-year-old Paul Thomas Carhart, allegedly attacked her when he was asked to move out. He allegedly tried to duct tape her hands and told authorities he intended to torture Helms before a bathroom mirror so she could watch her demise.
The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and she was in severe pain, but at least she had managed to flee with her life to the safety of a neighbor’s home.
“Once they opened the door, I just thanked God,” Helms said. “The minute I got in, I passed out and kept fading out of consciousness.
“It was the most terrifying experience of my life,” she added.
Helms suffered a concussion and her brain was bleeding internally from the beating.
Carhart was attempting to leave the home in his car when Bay County deputies arrived at 3:40 a.m. on Aug. 18. A small group of people in the neighborhood were pointing frantically at the car and calling out for the officers to not let him get away.
BCSO deputies were able to stop Carhart and put him in a patrol car, where he told them he had hurt his girlfriend, the officers reported.
When deputies spoke with Carhart, he stated he intended to kill Helms and had fantasized about it for months. He planned first to mutilate and torture her using various tools in front of a mirror so she would be forced to watch, BCSO reported.
Carhart recently pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and false imprisonment. Though Helms has mostly recovered from the physical damage of that night, mental scars continue to haunt her.
“I’m still trying to get through it,” she said. “In the daytime, it isn’t as bad, but at night, I basically live in fear.”
Second in the Panhandle
Helms’ domestic violence case does not stand alone in this part of the country — far from it.
In the Panhandle counties east of Jefferson County, Bay County is only surpassed by Escambia County in per capita reports of domestic violence offenses, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. Almost one in every 100 residents reported a stalking, assault or homicide related to domestic violence in 2013 — with an untold number of others affected by unreported domestic violence.
In Bay County’s population of about 170,000, domestic violence offenses totaled 1,608 in 2013. That’s an average of about four and a half cases each day, with some reoccurring offenders.
Bay County also led with six domestic violence homicides in each of the past two years. Some phsychologists believe domestic aggressors kill their spouses to eliminate the shame they have accumulated from previous abuses or attacks on the victim.
For some victims of domestic violence, it takes about seven incidents before the victim will leave the situation, according to Lt. Koren Culvert, of the BCSO domestic violence unit.
“The victim has seen when they were nice and loving,” Culvert said. “They can’t see how they couldn’t be that again.”
Violent cycles
Only two months prior to that August night, Carhart had been arrested for domestic battery on Helms. Police reported that the two got into a fight about money on June 1 at the Fountain home, and Carhart grabbed his girlfriend by the arms and slammed her into a wall. The following night, a similar incident occurred that left visible signs of injury on Helm’s arm, which prompted Carhart’s arrest, police said.
But about a week later, Helms contacted a Bay County judge, withdrawing her complaint. She said she only wanted police to separate the two after Carhart “gently” put his hands on her arms and “very easily” shoved her in the kitchen hallway.
“I am sorry for all the problems this has caused, but this is Paul’s home and his things are here,” she wrote. “Again, I say that Paul is a very good man and has never been in any trouble or been in jail until now. He would never hurt me and I am not afraid of him. Things just got out of hand.”
The charges against Carhart were dropped nine days after the judged received the victim’s correspondence. The State Attorney’s Office concurred with Helms, filing a report that they did not have a case based solely on the officers’ probable cause for the arrest.
“Without the victim’s cooperation in this case, the state cannot effectively proceed,” Assistant State Attorney Timothy Register wrote. “Despite having probable cause for the arrest, the state cannot prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Helms was lucky to survive the August incident.
“Call me stupid, call me sympathetic, but when he asked if he could come back and he apologized, I said ‘yes,’ ” she said. “I guess I cared and felt sorry for him.”
Reports
Law enforcement does not take any domestic violence call lightly, even if a victim does not want an arrest. Officers rely on physical evidence, information from 911 calls and witness accounts to determine whether an arrest takes place — due to the possible pressure the victim may be under to protect an assailant.
“What we are doing now is evidence-based prosecution,” Culvert said. “We recognize and anticipate the victim is not going to testify.”
Because of this pressure, or a fear of retribution, the reported figures on domestic violence could be deceptive, according to BCSO victims advocate Chevina Jackson, who responds to the majority of domestic cases in the county.
“Some victims have more to lose by reporting an incident,” she said.
In a small percentage — about 2 or 3 percent — of domestic violence calls, males are the victims, Jackson said. Those figures also could be underreported because males usually view themselves as being in control of a situation. But the same reason why most males will not call for police intervention is the ultimate catalyst for domestic violence in situations where they are the aggressor — control.
Jackson said red flags usually begin to surface as the aggressor gradually usurps control over the victim’s communications and activities. They often then will begin to demonstrate verbally abusive tendencies and escalate to physical violence.
“It starts off small,” Jackson said. “The cracks start to show, but it isn’t long before you can see that it is broken.”
Carhart’s case fits the common escalation of red flags culminating in a particularly violent outburst. Helms said he became overly sensitive to what he perceived as personal insults. Carhart then became more controlling about Helms’ behaviors before becoming verbally abusive and finally physically violent to the point she was almost killed, Helms said.
“The best thing I could advise anyone is to turn away right when those behaviors surface,” Helms said. “It is going to get physical at some point.”
Prevention
While many causes of domestic violence could seem out of control on a personal level, education more often helps break the cycle. Aggressors can receive domestic battery intervention courses, victims can become educated to their own self-worth and children caught in the middle can be educated that healthy relationships do not involve abuse or violence.
Getting a victim to leave before an incident occurs is an area victims advocates concentrate most of their efforts. In Bay County, Jackson spends a lot of time focusing on empowering the victim with the strength to act before violence erupts.
“You have to take a leap of faith to walk out the door,” Jackson said. “You might not be happy immediately, but you will be safe.”
Common red flags of an aggressor:
Exerts control on where you go, who you see and talk to, or what you wear.
Acts extremely jealous and/or possessive.
Puts down your friends and family, your dreams, ideas and/or goals.
Loses temper frequently over little things.
Becomes verbally abusive.
Makes threats to hurt you, leave you, hurt your pets, destroy your property and/or commit suicide.
Shifts blame to you, drugs or alcohol, a boss or parents for the behavior.
FOR PRINT GRAPHIC
Figures from 2013, listed by most per capita
Total domestic violence offenses in the Panhandle 9,731 of statewide totals of 108,030
County Offenses per capita murders
Escambia County— 1.03 … 2 murders
Bay County — 0.95 per capita… 6 murders
Okaloosa County — 0.88 per capita … 1 murder
Walton County — 0.81 per capita … 0 murders
Holmes County — 0.68 per capita … 0 murders
Washington County — 0.67 per capita… 0 murders
Franklin County — 0.58 per capita … 0 murders
Leon County — 0.54 per capita … 2 murders
Jackson County — 0.43 per capita … 3 murders
Santa Rosa County — 0.39 per capita … 1 murder
Calhoun County — 0.26 per capita … 0 murders
Wakulla County — 0.22 per capita … 0 murders
Gulf County — 0.14 per capita … 0 murder
Liberty County — 0.001 per capita… 0 murders
Domestic violence offenses 2013 reported in Bay County by police jurisdictions, according to FDLE records:
Bay County total - 1,608
Bay County Sheriff’s Office - 520
Panama City - 537
Mexico Beach - 10
Springfield - 94
Panama City Beach - 160
Lynn Haven - 240
Parker Police - 47