M. William Phelps - She Survived. Melissa

Table of Contents

Also By M. William Phelps

Perfect Poison

Lethal Guardian

Every Move You Make

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Murder in the Heartland

Because You Loved Me

If Looks Could Kill

Ill Be Watching You

Deadly Secrets

Cruel Death

Death Trap

Kill For Me

Love Her to Death

Too Young to Kill

Never See Them Again

Murder, New England

Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of Americas First Spy

The Devils Rooming House: The True Story of

Americas Deadliest Female Serial Killer

The Devils Right Hand: The Tragic Story of the

Colt Family Curse

The Dead Soul: A Thriller (available as eBook only)

Kiss of the She-Devil

Bad Girls

Obsessed

The Killing Kind

About the Authors

Crime writer, serial-killer expert, and investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six nonfiction books. Winner of the 2008 New England Book Festival Award for Ill Be Watching You , Phelps has appeared on nearly one hundred television shows, including CBSs Early Show , ABCs Good Morning America , The Today Show , The View , TLC, BIO Channel, and History Channel. Phelps also created, produces, and stars in the hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds , now heading into its fourth season; and he is one of the stars of IDs Deadly Women. Radio America calls him the nations leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.

Profiled in such noted publications as Writers Digest, Connecticut Magazine, NY Daily News, NY Post, Newsday, Suspense Magazine, and The Hartford Courant , Phelps has also consulted for the Showtime cable television series Dexter and written for Connecticut Magazine. Touched by tragedy himself, due to the unsolved murder of his sister-in-law, Phelps is able to enter the hearts and minds of his subjects like no one else. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community and can be reached at his author website, www.mwilliamphelps.com .

Melissa Schickel was just twenty-five when she survived a near-fatal attack by a violent criminal. Today she works as a paralegal. She enjoys attending hockey games, comedy shows, and taking her Dalmatian mix and gray-and-black Catahoula Leopard/Blue Heeler mix for walks. She lives in the Midwest and hopes one day to become a full-time comedy writer.

AFTERWORD

Thank you for purchasing the first book in this exciting new series I have embarked upon with Kensington Publishing Corp. It has been a tremendous honor for me to be able to bring these courageous, albeit terrifying and violent, stories to readers. I am a passionate victims advocate and this series allows me to explore that important part of my life and work in great depth. I love the idea that goodness overcomes evil every time in these stories, victims have the last word, and there is redemption after all the trauma. Violent criminals end up with their stories on the evening news, while their victims are allowed to sit back and watch. Criminals, as it is, become the stars of crime shows, books, movies, and generally receive all the headlines. Here, at least, I have given the victim of a violent crime the chance to share her story and how she managed throughout the entire ordeal. Essentially, the victim here has the final say. She has taken that power back from her perpetrator.

I want to thank Melissa Schickel in particular for being so honest and open about her story. She showed courage and respect for the process and I applaud her for that. Melissa hopes that others read her story and understand that not all victims of violent crime curl up in a ball and allow their perpetrators to determine the outcome of their lives. Melissas story and her life are a testament to this.

Today Melissa is doing fine. Shes happy. She likes to say that she doesnt go anywhere without her two best friends by her side.

CHAPTER 1

BAD FEELINGS

It was Valentines Day. Melissa Schickel found herself in a rough spot. She and her boyfriend werent getting along. The last time they talked, the conversation had not gone well. Melissa was thinking he wanted to end the relationship.