Tonight, Placencia resident Vanessa Reyes is breathing a sigh of relief after getting the news that Christon Rocha, her common law who stabbed her in the face had finally been apprehended - after three months as one of Belize's most wanted fugitives.
Rocha fled Placencia after the Easter weekend attack and was thought to be hiding out either in the Independence village or his native Honduras. But he was ultimately found in the Belize District village of Biscayne.
And the best part is that he was arrested by the victim's brother. He and his team set chase after Rocha and ultimately brought him in.
And this evening after the news broke Cherisse Halsall checked in with a grateful Vanessa Reyes.
4 months ago we told you the story behind this shocking flash of violence. It involved the mother of three Vanessa Reyes and her then partner Christon Rocha who nearly killed her in what became a rage-fuelled public attack.
Since then Vanessa had been hiding in a safe house unable to work and unable to see her children. But a month ago she quietly came out. Despite the danger, she needed to be there for her children and needed to work to feed them and pay her bills.
Vanessa Reyes, Domestic Violence Survivor
"Trying to get life back to normal with my kids and working. I still walk and look over my shoulder every night, but with the news today, I am overwhelmed, I have a peace of mind, I feel like I could breathe again. I am just happy knowing that he was caught today."
"What made me came out was my kids. I was missing them so much. I came back to work for them and I wanted to see them and being in that safe house I needed to be back at work, because the passion that I have for this job, I needed it to keep me busy and be positive, so being at work, my mind is always positive when I'm here and it distracts me in a lot of ways. Being at the safe house, you over think too much, so being at work, you meet people, you talk, you mix drinks and like for me I love my job, so I always into my job. Its a peace of mind being here working."
And just one month after Vanessa cautiously resumed her routine, her assailant and former partner Christon Rocha was finally captured after he was spotted by a policeman who knew him all too well:
Vanessa Reyes, Domestic Violence Survivor
"Like I always told my mom it would have to be somebody that really know him very well to recognize him in whatever features of how he looks now. While I got the news today, I was working and I got messages and then I decide to check my phone, because I was busy. When I check the phone, they say he's been caught - I was like WOW. I'm so grateful to him."
"They were just returning from a trip that he was on duty to Orange Walk and they were returning and he was in his vehicle and then he notices him (Rocha) walking on the road and he knows the walking to all the years I spent with him, like 17 years and so he had to know him. He knows the kids and so he knows especially the walking and so he said they decide to stop and when the vehicle reverse they realize that it was him and then he just wanted make sure that it was him and like to his knowledge he was surprise that he was all the way out there in Biscaye. There was a little chase to get him and a couple bullets were fired, but that's what I heard, he didn't give up easily."
"He wanted me to have a peace of mind walking without looking over my shoulder. He wanted me to feel safe. Even though I was working, I was always surrounded by a support team, that I was always with someone. I was never by myself and even though we walk sometimes, you know, you still have to look around wondering is somebody going to come after me, maybe its not him, maybe he's going to send someone after me. But I thanks for the support that I had around me."
And Vanessa says one thing she can't regret is going public with her message of courage in the face of terror:
Vanessa Reyes, Domestic Violence Survivor "Back then to now it has been a big relief, because I have sit, I have think, I have decided that for the sake of my kids I have to make decisions. I cannot be selfish and not think about them. So whatever decision I make right now, I'm stronger and even though in my heart that I forgive him, but he has to pay the price for what he did. At the end of the day he is still the kids father, but he has to sit and think what he did. Is to speak up, get out, it doesn't get better. Every time it just gets worse. Sometimes I get promises like I'm sorry, but sometimes they just serve for a while and they go back into the same person and believe me, it starts small and every time you think it gets better, it gets worse. So if you have time, get up, speak and get out."
And with Rocha behind bars, Vanessa and the kids can finally get back to their lives, although she acknowledges that their path isn't an easy one.
Vanessa Reyes, Domestic Violence Survivor
"They do miss him, I won't say they don't, but we have managed to understand and the love that they have is good that they understand what's going on."
And while there's a lot of emotional work ahead, this hard-working mom expressed hope for the future while acknowledging that she is one of the lucky ones.
Vanessa Reyes, Domestic Violence Survivor
"I still walk and look over my shoulder, because at this moment, not everyone is on my side, he has family out here. Some people might not be happy with the decision being made, but like I always explains, whoever knows me knows that I am a good mother, I was a good wife to him - everybody knows and he knows it in his heart that I was good to him. He was the one who made the decision and he was the one who put himself in this situation, so he has to sit and face what he did."
Reyes says she will be pressing charges against Rocha.
Toward the end of the conversation, she sent special thank yous to everyone who supported her in her time of need.
