Attack forces Indy woman to 'restart entire life'

Carleigh Hager has become a shell of herself ever since she was attacked.

After the 25-year-old's ex-boyfriend allegedly strangled her and tried to rip out her tongue, she remained hospitalized for days and required intensive counseling, said Megan Splichal, Hager's older sister.

"She's trying to piece back everything that made her who she was," Spichal said. "They break you down and make you believe you have nothing without them, and (Hager's ex) did that successfully. She doesn’t know who she is in this world or what she's capable of or how much she’s loved."

It's been three months since that October night, and Hager is nowhere near back to normal. She hasn't gone back to work. She can't go to the grocery store or outside by herself for fear that she'll run into her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Cameron. She has a thick scar above her left eyebrow and still hasn't regained her full sense of taste.

She's had to restart her entire life, Splichal said.

Hager's brutal injuries and expensive medical bills prompted Teka Abner, the co-founder and director of children's hospital outreach at Miracle Fundraising LLC, to organize a benefit. All the money raised at Saturday's benefit will go toward Hager's bills.

"I wanted to help, and there was nothing to do but this," Abner said. "You can't say anything right. But to throw a party in her honor … she's been smiling ever since she stepped out of the limo."

But it was also a chance to raise awareness about the prominence of domestic violence. Like it or not, Hager's assault made her a poster child to help other victims.

"People don't want to talk about (domestic violence), but it's happening everywhere," Spichal said. "We don't want this to be swept under the rug, we want to expose this for the sickly taboo subject that it is. ... Carleigh's case was particuarly horrific, and I think that's what grabs people."

Too many people accept being pushed or grabbed, Spichal said, because it seems like nothing compared to cases like Hager's. But pushing and grabbing can lead to deep lacerations, full-body bruises and bite marks. It did for Hager.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 10 million women and men are abused by an intimate partner each year. That's 20 people per minute.

Many women and men don't report their abuse, or stay with their abusers, because they feel they have no one else to turn to, according to NCADV.

That's part of why Abner hosted the benefit — to show Hager that she's not alone.

And at the benefit, it was clear Hager could feel the love. Smiling and dancing with her friends and family, Hager looked happy and carefree. She was surrounded by everyone who loved her, at a party thrown in her honor.

"She was a normal 25-year-old living life," Abner said about Hager before the attack. "Now, it's nice to see her smile and have fun and not have a care in the world, because everything usually weighs so heavily on her."

Cameron's trial begins Feb. 6, where he faces aggravated battery and strangulation charges.

Follow IndyStar reporter Kara Berg on Twitter: @karaberg95.

Family: Ex-boyfriend tried to rip out Indiana woman's tongue