A year later, Kayla Hayes spoke out about her ordeal, sharing photos of her ho*rific inj*ries. Kayla – from Greenville, South Carolina – started dating Seth Aaron Fleury in 2016, when he was 21 and she was 17.
She br-oke up with him after almost a year, because he treated her like “property”. A few weeks later, she met up with him so that he could “right his wrongs” before joining the Navy – but he became v!olent when she ref*sed to get back with him.
Fleury tried to k!ss her, and as Kayla pu-lled away, he b-it her bottom lip so hard it almost completely to-re off.Kayla, now 19, said: “I met him down the street, he had flowers and cards, one about getting back together.
“After reading the cards, he asked: ‘Don’t you have anything to say?’ and I told him I was not there to get back with him. “He told me to get out, so I did, and he thr-ew everything at the back of my head. Once I got back into my car, my leg was sha-king so uncontr-ollably that I couldn’t move.
“I saw him draw a breath and try to k!ss me, as I pu-lled away he cle-nched down.”I remember him la*ching onto me and my body being in sho-ck, I didn’t feel any pa!n apart from the te-ar and I sta-rted scre-aming.”He then dra-gged me by the hair and sla*med the door in my face and drove off. It was crazy.”
Fleury pleaded gu!lty to as*ault and ba-ttery of a high aggr*vated nature and was sentenced to 12 years in ja!l.While she’s “relieved” he’s in pr!son, Kayla has been left with permanent sca-rring. She underwent emergency plas-tic su-rgery and received over 300 st!tches, and the da*age ca-used by the att-ack left her with limited movement around her mouth.
She continued: “My su-rgeon had to c-ut all around my face and cheeks to bring the two sides of my lip together because it was to-rn off completely.”I find myself insecure over the sc-ars, it’s very hard as a young woman especially, but I can define my sc-ars or have them define me, they show my story and what I have overcome.
“A piece of me passed away after the att-ack, at times I feel a great deal of sadness but now when I think about that day, I know I’m a stronger person today.” “I have been told Seth did it intentionally and wanted to leave his mark on me for my next boyfriend.”Seth was very controlling and treated me like the property, not a girlfriend, he was very man!pulative.”
Happily, she’s now found love with Bl-ake, a friend who’s supported her since she was in the hospital. Kayla said: “He is amazing, he would hold me even when I was covered in st!tches and told me I was beautiful. He picked up the br-oken pieces.”He played a hum-ongous part in my recovery and picked me up on my hardest days.
“He showed me that not all guys are like my ex and that there are good people out there.”Kayla is fundraising to pay off her medical bills and future treatment, as well as return to school.She was fo-rced to withdraw from college – where she was studying to become a dental hygienist – and as a result, lost a scholarship.She now hopes to focus her studies on dom-estic v!olence-related issues.
This Article First Published On THESUN