MONROE — The violent death of 21-year-old Gabby Petsche of Monroe, who police say was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend on a street corner in Freeport on Feb. 1, has prompted a family friend to speak out on her behalf and raise funds for her son’s care.

“What happened to Gabby could have just as easily happened to me,” said Tara Pierce, 31, whose sister is a close friend of Gabby’s mother, Georgia Petsche of Monroe.

Less than a year ago, Pierce said she survived a domestic violence attack so brutal it put her in a hospital for three days. Her assailant, a man she’d been dating for a couple of months, is now is prison.

She said the case opened her eyes to flaws in how domestic violence cases are handled and has made her want to advocate for victims.

Pierce has started an online fundraising campaign for Gabby’s 11-month-old son, Daymien William, and is speaking out about her own experience to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Gabby’s former coworkers at Stoughton Trailers in Brodhead are also collecting donations for the boy and his family.

More than 100 people attended Gabby’s funeral last week, and the visitation at the funeral home lasted over five hours, Pierce said. In the days after Gabby’s murder, bouquets of flowers were tied to a pole at the intersection in Freeport where she was attacked.

The man charged with killing Gabby, 23-year-old Chad M. Blaser of Freeport, is being held on a $250,000 bond. The case was bound over for trial this week in Stephenson County Circuit Court.

According to Freeport police, Blaser was in the car with Gabby when he started stabbing her as she drove on West Avenue, causing her to crash into a snow pile at the intersection with Pleasant Street, and then continued stabbing her outside the vehicle before fleeing the scene. She died later that night in a hospital with stab wounds to her head, back and abdomen.

Police arrested Blaser about 1 1/2 blocks away. He had minor cuts on one hand.

At the time, Blaser was out on a signature bond for domestic abuse charges involving Gabby in Monroe less than a month earlier.

Monroe Chief of Police Fred Kelley said his officers responded to two calls at Gabby’s home on the morning of Jan. 8.

At about 7:30 a.m., she reported getting text messages from Blaser that scared her, Kelley said. About two hours later, she called again to report Blaser was at her home, had broken out a window on her car and was throwing rocks. The damage to the car was so severe it resulted in a felony charge against Blaser.

Responding officers “chased him about 2 1/2 blocks on foot and cornered him in a backyard,” Kelley said. Blaser was jailed, but released the next day on a $2,000 signature bond.

Conditions of his bond included no contact with Gabby except for exchange of their child via third party. The day before Gabby was killed, Blaser broke his bond by failing to show up for his hearing in the case in Green County Circuit Court, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 

Daymien was in the car when his mother was stabbed.

Gabby “did everything right” and sought to protect herself and her child from Blaser, Pierce said.

“When they talk about women who leave domestic violence situations — she followed so many of those steps” Pierce said. “She moved in with family to help protect herself and her son. She was doing everything she could on her end. The system failed her.”

Pierce remembers Gabby as a kind, loyal and loving young woman whose main focus was taking care of her son.

“Daymien was everything to her,” Pierce said. As a result of domestic violence, she said, “that little boy lost his mom.”

Pierce could have died last March from her own experience with domestic violence, if not for the persistence of police to help her, she said.

The man convicted in her assault, 34-year-old Casey L. Satter, was high on drugs at the time and held her hostage in her Bayfield County home for nine hours, breaking her phone so she couldn’t call for help, she said. He sexually assaulted her, choked her repeatedly, cut her with a machete and fractured her ribs. Some of the assault occurred in front of her children.

“It was essentially nine hours of complete torture,” Pierce said.

When she didn’t show up for work, her boss asked police to check on her. Scared and traumatized, Pierce initially sent the officer away. But instead of leaving, the officer called for backup, and now she’s thankful that he did.

Like Blaser, Satter was out on bond at the time. Satter has a lengthy criminal record in Wisconsin, including convictions of domestic abuse. He’s currently in a state prison in Prairie du Chien. Pierce successfully petitioned the court for a 10-year restraining order on him.

“When I came home from the hospital, I was a mess,” Pierce said. “I felt like I was never going to be myself again. I needed to have a purpose. I didn’t want to be seen as a victim, I wanted to be seen as a survivor.”

It infuriated her that she found out about a plea deal in Satter’s case via an impersonal form letter in the mail.

“It was horrible. ... There was no concern for me. There was no compassion,” she said. “It was honestly like being re-victimized.” 

Pierce decided to do something about it. She met with the Bayfield County District Attorney to ask that victims have more personal input and no longer be notified by mail of resolutions in their offenders’ cases.

“After my case, they no longer notify victims by mail of potential deals or offers,” Pierce said. “Once I was able to find my voice and stand up for myself, it was reassuring to see that it made a difference.”

She’s now an advocate for more domestic violence training and education for first responders, as well as better communication with victims from the court. She’s also focused on helping Gabby’s family, and overwhelmed by the response so far.

“I knew that I wanted to do something and I knew that this little boy and Gabby’s family needed help,” Pierce said. She eventually wants to turn the fundraising campaign into a trust fund for Daymien.

“I’ve gotten a lot of domestic violence groups reaching out wanting to share not only my story, but Gabby’s story,” she said. “I know that I want to make a difference. This kind of blew up a lot bigger and a lot quicker than I thought it would.” 

Reflecting on why advocacy matters to her, Pierce said she’s determined to help anyone she can in any way possible. 

“If I help raise awareness or get one person away from a domestic violence situation,” she said. “Then I’m doing something with the second chance I was given.”