A Troy women allegedly assaulted by her husband in September has returned home. Tracee Peterson, 38, had been in a Seattle hospital since early October after her husband, Joshua Peterson, allegedly beat her with a baseball bat on Sept. 28.
Tracee’s father, Ed Hanson, said his daughter is trying to move forward and is having a remarkable recovery. Tracee was in a medically induced coma for nearly two weeks after the assault that broke every bone in her head.
“The doctors said ‘there is no medical reason you are still with us, we’re just a part of this miracle,’” Hanson recalled. “She’s doing remarkably well.”
Hanson was the first person to find Tracee after she was beaten in September. According to court documents, police arrived soon after and found Tracee with her mouth filled with blood and extreme swelling in the nose, cheek and eye areas. Her right ear was severed at the lower lobe. Tracee was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. On Oct. 5 she was transferred to Seattle.
Joshua later talked with police and showed them where he had thrown the bat allegedly used to beat Tracee. After finding the bat, police arrested Joshua and brought him to the Lincoln County Detention Center. It was there that he admitted to police that he had assaulted Tracee, according to court records. On Oct. 21, Joshua pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. A trial has been set for May. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
According to Hanson, the September incident was not the first time Joshua had assaulted Tracee and the couple was in the process of separating. Joshua was reportedly found guilty of misdemeanor partner-family assault in 2003 and sentenced to one year in prison with all but 10 days suspended.
Tracee emerged from her medically induced coma two weeks after the assault and since then she has gone through multiple facial reconstructive surgeries and therapy sessions. Hanson said his daughter has been recovering faster than anyone thought she would. Earlier this month, she was transferred to an intensive therapy ward where she was supposed to stay for three weeks to six months, but doctors let her go after just two weeks.
On Nov. 13, she returned home to Troy for the first time since September. Three days later, the town held a fundraiser with an auction and chili dinner. Hanson said so many items where donated for the fundraiser that there was not enough time to auction everything off. Hanson said it was an emotional homecoming.
“It was just amazing,” he said. “Just watching Tracee walk around brought tears to everyone’s eyes.”
Tracee is still in a neck brace and will start more therapy in the coming weeks. Hanson said her eyesight and hearing are impaired and she mostly identifies people by the sound of their voice. She also has some memory loss from the weeks following the assault.
“There are still a lot of blank spots in her mind of the last eight weeks,” he said.
Tracee and her five children are living with her parents in Troy and will probably stay there into the New Year. She spends most of her days helping get her children ready for school and assisting them with homework.
“Emotionally she’s just trying to move forward,” Hanson said.