TOLEDO, Ohio — Update: Montrice Hughes was arrested the morning of Oct. 26 and is being held on a $75,000 bond with a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 2. A protection order has been issued.
More than 10 million people are abused by their partners every year, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. One of those people is local mother Jenna Lee.
She said she was beaten by the father of her kids, Montrice Hughes.
"This isn't the first time that he's abused me, but this is the worst," Lee said.
She was hospitalized Saturday morning after Hughes allegedly beat her. After this most recent incident, Lee said she had enough and is working to make sure she and her kids are safe.
She filed for a temporary restraining order against Hughes, who had a warrant out for his arrest and has prior domestic violence convictions in Toledo.
"She did not deserve what happened to her," Lee's stepfather, Leroy Kosier said. "Nobody deserves to be abused."
Lee said it happened after she was talking to a male coworker on the phone about alcohol and her learning how to bartend.
She said Hughes got mad and shoved food in her face, and it escalated from there.
"He held me to the ground while he was holding my neck," she said. "He was just punching me in my face. I don't know how many times he punched me exactly."
The next thing she knew, she was locked in the bathroom. She said Hughes was making her an ice pack and cleaning up her blood.
Lee's mother, JoAnna Kosier, said the call she received at 3 a.m. about her daughter was her worst nightmare.
"I had to go to the hospital and physically touch her and look at her and hear her talking to make sure she was okay," JoAnna said.
Lee has bruises on the inside and outside of her body, is in hiding and fears it will happen again. As for right now, JoAnna hopes a TikTok she posted will help track him down.
"Jenna needs to know that there are people who support her, that we will help lead her in the right direction, she just needs to follow," JoAnna said.
Leroy said he still can't comprehend how things got this far.
"I'm hurt for her," he said. "I'm upset that this has been done to her and to see her how she is, it makes me want to cry."
For Lee, the next steps are to make sure she and her kids are safe.
"It's just not worth going back," she said. "Whether you think you're comfortable with the person or not. it's not worth going back because it's only going to get worse."
Hughes was still on the run at the time this report aired Tuesday night. The fugitive task force located Hughes on Wednesday morning, Lee's family said, and he was taken into custody.
Court documents Wednesday show that Lee's protection order was issued. Hughes is being held on $75,000 bond at the Lucas County jail. A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 2.