Transcript: 152. Stalking Katerina Brunot | USA

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Our cases have been researched using open source and archive materials. It deals with true crimes and real people. Some parts are graphic in nature and listener discretion is advised. Each episode is produced with the utmost respect to the victims, their families and loved ones. 

Katerina Sheridan was washing the dishes after dinner, in her Atlanta, Georgia home. Well, it wasn’t HER home, it was her husband’s. And he would never pass up an opportunity to remind her of that. She already dreaded what was coming next, so she washed, and rewashed the dishes, stalling the inevitable… Going into the bedroom.

A year before, Katerina was an art student in Siberia. She always loved fine arts, theatre and ballet – but that seemed like a lifetime ago now. When she met Frank Sheridan on an online dating site, he promised her heaven and earth if she moved to America to be with him. 

Katerina, a romantic at heart, was flatter that he was interested in her. She’d always been on the shier side but enjoyed her correspondence with Frank. When he visited her in Siberia, she was convinced that he was serious about their relationship. So, when he proposed, Katerina was over the moon. Not only would she have someone to take care of her, but she would be able to live out the American dream, as she had seen it on shows like Santa Barbara.

But a harsh reality awaited her once their nuptials had been done… When they arrived at their marital home, she noticed how tidy Frank kept things. Every little thing had its place and it was spotless. Frank was a neat freak, something she never knew about him. But he was not intending on maintaining it – that would be HER job. Overnight, Katerina had become nothing more but a slave, who cooked, cleaned and saw to her husband’s sexual demands. If she refused to do what was expected of her, Frank assaulted her. Katerina’s dream of a fairy tale had turned into a nightmare…

>>Intro Music

Katerina was born in 1977 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Her parents split up when she was only a small girl and she lived with her mother. Her mom worked as a costume designer at the renowned Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, so Katerina’s childhood was a fun and colourful world of make-belief. She grew up seeing world-class performances from the best seats in the house and dreamed about meeting her own prince charming when she grew up.

Around the turn of the millennium, Katerina was a 22-year-old art student at Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University. Novosibirsk, in southwest Siberia, is the third most populous city in Russia – after Moscow and St Peterburg. The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre where her mother worked is a world-renowned institution and the crown of this grand city. The city is also a major stop in Trans-Siberian Railway and is well connected to the rest of Russia. 

Just over a decade after the fall of Communism, Novosibirsk was expanding at a rapid rate. It was an up-and-coming, bustling metropolis. Although remote, there was a lot on offer for a young student like Katerina. She was close to her family and grew up in a loving and protective environment.  Katarina had a good life in Novosibirsk. She was close to her mother and she had a bright future in her hometown. But she had always yearned for something else.

When Katerina reached her twenties, the harsh Siberian winters got to her, and she wondered what it would be like to live somewhere else. She was a romantic at heart, and loved watching movies, living vicariously through the attractive and confident characters, like the women in James Bond films. 

The boyfriends she had dated before were all heavy drinkers. She was aware of alcohol-induced domestic abuse and knew that she wanted a better life for herself. A future of drinking and fighting was not for her, she wanted art, culture and romance. So, when a friend told her about a dating website where she could meet foreign suitors, Katerina mulled it over. Many young, ambitious women in Katerina’s position were making their way to America by way of marriage, and she decided to throw her hat into the ring as well.  

Although she was keen to find a husband and start a family, the whole online-dating thing was just a bit of fun. She always knew she wanted to have kids and give them a happy home. But it would have to be with the right man.

Katerina placed a personal advertisement in a matchmaking catalogue and chose a photo of herself wearing a black blouse. In the picture, one sees a bright-eyed, blonde and attractive young woman, but there is nothing provocative about her matter-of-fact expression. ‘What you see is what you get’ with Katerina, and she felt her picture was an accurate visual representation of her bio. She described herself like this:

“I live a healthy lifestyle, am romantic, kind, honest, faithful and loyal.”

In her description, she also added that she had old fashioned values. Now, this is something that a straight-shooting and naïve young woman added to explain that she was a bit more on the shy and conservative side when it came to bedroom matters. She was not aware that she had entered a world of double entendre, where the term ‘old fashioned’ is construed as being ‘sexually submissive in the bedroom’ and ‘dutiful around the house’. 

And this is unfortunately how it was interpreted by someone who was no stranger in the matchmaking, trawling-for-love milieu. 38-year-old Atlanta plumber, Frank Sheridan knew he wanted to be with Katerina as soon as he saw her picture. He found her description refreshing and saw an opportunity to obtain himself an obedient wife – a far cry from the independent American women he had been dating.

Frank Sheridan lived in the Towne Lake area of Woodstock, where locals knew him by his pristine red Cherokee County. Nearing his forties, Frank felt it was time to settle down. Together with his friend Brett Douglas, they reached out to women from the same catalogue, hoping to meet their life partners.

Contact between Katerina and Frank was frequent. She was pleased when she saw his pictures and Frank tried his best to win her over. He sent flowers and gifts… They wrote each other letters and talked over the phone. Frank’s daily phone call was always a highlight for Katerina. When she answered the phone, she heard Frank’s voice on the other side of the line, saying hello to his ‘Siberian Princess’. They got on just fine and when Frank said he was planning a trip to Siberia to meet her in person, Katerina was thrilled. 

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~ Now, back to today’s episode ~

Katerina prepared to meet her American love interest and quietly planned out their happily-ever-after. When Frank arrived, however, he wasn’t quite what she had pictured in her mind. He looked much older than in the pictures he sent her. And he wasn’t as kind and romantic as she had perceived him to be over the phone. 

But as Frank settled in during his 10-day visit, he chilled out a bit and Katerina saw a glimpse of the man she thought he was. She put his moody behaviour of the first couple of days down to jetlag and soon all was forgiven. Things between them were great by the time Frank left and they continued their long-distance relationship. Always the artist, Katerina made a painting of a prince saving a Siberian Princess in distress. This was her dream, to ride off into the sunset with Frank.

And so, it happened… He returned to Siberia to propose to Katerina and within a year of meeting face-to-face for the first time, the star-crossed couple got married. It was a beautiful July wedding in Georgia. First a civil ceremony, then, complying with Katerina’s wishes, the couple tied the knot in front of family and friends in the Russian Orthodox Church. On their wedding day, Katerina had a moment of panic. She felt that Frank wasn’t quite himself, but in the humdrum of well-wishers and toasts, she brushed her concerns aside. 

But her instincts were right on the money, all wasn’t well with Frank and soon the fairy-tale romance turned into a horror-story. After moving in with Frank, Katerina realised that he did not see her as his companion, or his equal – she was no longer his Siberian Princess. She had become an object he possessed from which he demanded sex, whether she consented or not. Katerina was also tasked with all the household chores, to be done to his over-the-top expectations. She was a sex and domestic slave to a man she thought loved her. Her days consisted of cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and making herself available to Frank. 

Katerina was repulsed and grew mortified by the thought of what her life had become. Once a promising art student with a caring family and many friends back in Russia, she hardly recognised herself. In Atlanta she was completely alone and at the mercy of a cruel captor of a husband.

Three months into their marriage, Frank rented a video for them to watch together, and when he wanted turn on the TV, he discovered it was unplugged. Katerina had taken the plug out while she was cleaning and had forgotten to put it back in. Frank exploded, overreacted completely and resorted to hitting her. 

Katerina could not believe this and struggled to come to terms with the physical abuse. She felt alone, ashamed of her situation. She did not want to tell her mother back in Siberia, because she did not want her to worry. 

From this day onward, Frank often beat Katerina into submission when she refused to give in to his demands. He was a dictator about housekeeping and everything had to be ‘just so’. Whenever she pleaded with him to ease up on her, he reminded her how much money it cost him to bring her over to America. He felt that he owned her and could do to her as he pleased.

Frank also took away Katerina’s cell phone and cut all the phone lines in the house, so she couldn’t speak to anyone. The smallest thing would set him off – if she didn’t clean to his ridiculous standards, anything… His violent rages escalated and once, after beating her, he even dragged Katerina around the house by her legs. 

Katerina did not have her own key to the house, she had no car and Frank controlled their money. She was one hundred percent dependent on him. This was not the life she had dreamed of back in Siberia. 

When Katerina built up the courage, she confronted Frank and told him that she wished to return to Russia. He was furious and walked into the kitchen to fetch a knife. Katerina was convinced that he was going to kill her, but Frank did not go after her, instead, he stabbed himself. Katerina was confused about her husband’s random reaction and thought perhaps it was a clumsy suicide attempt because she wanted to leave him. But she soon learnt that it was all part of his contingent plan to keep her under his control.

Bleeding profusely, Frank called 911 and told them that his wife had stabbed him. Responding officers saw the situation in the Sheridan home and took into custody. At first, she was relieved – she thought she could talk to authorities and explain what was actually going on inside their home. With their help she could finally escape from Frank. With her limited knowledge of the English language, it took her a while to understand that she was being charged with aggravated assault and battery. Katerina had only been in America for about six months and was unfamiliar with the system and unsure about her rights. In the end, she spent three weeks in jail – for something she didn’t do. 

Her bond was set at $15,000, an exorbitant amount for Katerina who had only just immigrated. The only person she knew who could bail her out, was Frank. He went to see her in prison and said he’d only bail her out if she agreed to stay with him. At first, she refused, but after weighing up her options, she knew this would be the only way out. 

However, Katerina had discovered a lifeline – a women’s shelter in Canton – and informed them of her situation. Manager of the shelter, Meg Rogers, promised to help Katerina as on her release. Meg confirmed that, if Katerina could convince Frank to pay her bond, they would help her to escape from him. 

Katerina took a huge risk, trusting people she had never met before, but her back was against the wall. In February 2002, the bond-officer snuck Katerina out the back of the prison where Meg Rogers was waiting. They made it to the safety of the shelter, without Frank knowing where she was or what had happened to her. 

Frank was furious and refused to let Katerina go. He hired a private investigator, who tracked her down. Katerina was petrified but refused to go back to Frank and was adamant that she would remain in the shelter. She changed her appearance as often as she could: she dyed her hair, wore wigs, borrowed clothes from other women in the shelter – hoping Frank wouldn’t recognise her if he saw her.

But she was not free from Frank yet. They were still married and he held on to all her official documents. In this chess-game with her deranged husband Katerina found herself in checkmate: without her green card she could not find a job. Without her passport, she could not travel. Without her birth certificate she could not obtain a new passport. 

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~ Now, let’s resume today’s episode of Evidence Locker.

Despite her desperate situation Katerina knew she had to keep going. She had never driven a car before. Back in Novosibirsk, this was not unusual, she never needed to drive in a city where most people used Metro trains, trams, buses or taxis to get around. She was also still learning English and felt she had a way to go in becoming independent. With help from women from the shelter Katerina became completely self-sufficient. They taught her how to drive and helped her to practice speaking English. Over time her confidence grew and she volunteered to work at the arts-council. 

Besides Meg from the shelter, her only friend during this time was another Russian migrant who had married an American man. Yelena Douglas was married to a friend of Frank’s, Brett Douglas. In fact, when Frank went to Siberia to meet Katerina, Brett went to the Ukraine to meet Yelena. However, Brett and Yelena lived too far away for Katerina to see her friend often and Katerina was alone for the most part.

Slowly but surely Katerina began to feel like the quietly confident young woman she was before she met Frank Sheridan. Most days worked at the arts council, but when she had free time, she went to the local library. Here she learnt to use the internet and increased contact with her mother back home in Siberia via email.

A year after her fairytale wedding, Katerina received a notice from the immigration department, saying that, if she did NOT return to Russia…

“…proceedings would be instituted to enforce [her] departure.”

She was about to be deported. Frank had filed for divorce and removed himself as the sponsor on her US residency application. By law, a noncitizen must be supported by a relative who is an American citizen.

With the help from Meg Rogers and women from the shelter, Katerina decided to appeal her impeding deportation. The first port of call was to confirm that her time in jail would not count against her. Fortunately, the charges Frank brought against her in the stabbing case had been dropped, and there was no record of it. This meant Katerina could remain in the States for the time being. 

Thanks to help from Meg, Katerina petitioned Immigration services, informing them that she was a victim of domestic abuse. The Violence Against Women Act was their only hope… Because many migrant women stay in abusive relationships for the sake of obtaining residency, Congress passed the Act, hoping to protect women in Katerina’s position.

Meanwhile, Frank had been keeping a keen eye on his ex-wife. He stalked her relentlessly, and Katerina could not go anywhere without seeing Frank. He didn’t even try to hide his obsession with her, and his noticeable red truck was always parked close-by, wherever Katerina went. Her co-workers at the art-council often saw him parked outside their offices. The truck was also seen driving up and down the road where the women’s shelter was located. 

Meg Rogers always called 911 when she saw Frank’s truck parked out front of the shelter. Frank was under a protective order to stay away from Katerina, but it didn’t seem to deter him. When Katerina and Meg followed up with police, they were shocked to learn that there was no record of the phone calls Meg had made. No one was investigating Frank Sheridan, which is why he was free to carry on harassing Katerina.

Katerina refused to let Frank’s obsession with her rule her life. She was still tentatively settling into her own, independent life in Atlanta, and could not let him ruin her future. She dated occasionally, and even met a guy that seemed like someone she could have a long-term relationship with. They went on a couple of dates, but Katerina realised she was not ready for anything serious and they decided to only be friends. No matter what she did to where she went, she was always looking over her shoulder, keeping an eye out for Frank and his red truck.

In October 2002, an agent ‘Criswell’ from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation called the women’s shelter, looking for Katerina. Fortunately, Meg Rogers was the one who picked up the phone and she covered for her friend. The call concerned Meg, because it was the second one in a week – the first one was from a private investigator. Fearing that Frank could be behind the calls, Meg contacted the GBI, asking for agent Criswell. There was in fact an agent by that name, but when Meg asked him about Katerina, he had never heard of her before. He told Meg that he worked for the bomb squad. She knew then that it was Frank, impersonating agent Criswell, who had called the shelter.

Meg informed agent Criswell about the situation and asked how Frank knew about him. When the agent learnt that Frank was a plumber from Towne Lake, he recalled meeting him some years before. He had noticed Frank’s immaculate truck and asked him who had done the retrofitting job on it. Frank said that he would call Criswell with the details and took the GBI agent’s card. 

A week after Frank’s phone call to the shelter, impersonating agent Criswell, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Frank Sheridan reporting an attempted break-in. He claimed a suspicious vehicle was parked outside of his house and the couple inside were clearly scouting the neighbourhood. He gave police the vehicle’s registration number: it was that of Katerina’s male friend. Katerina and her friend never went anywhere near Frank’s house, this was just another one of Frank’s attempts to complicate things for her.

Police realised it was a false accusation and no charges were laid against them. However, Katerina’s friend did not want to get dragged into her situation with Frank and decided to keep his distance from her. 

Katerina was sad to have lost a much-needed friend but didn’t blame him. During her nine-month stay at the shelter in Canton, she went on a couple of dates, but she was terrified to commit. That is until she met Jeff Brunot on an online dating site. Jeff lived nearby, in Marietta and worked as a mechanical designer. He was also cautiously looking to get back into the dating game after his divorce. 

When Katerina agreed to a date, staff at the shelter were concerned for her safety. She promised she would be back by 8pm. She also did not tell Jeff where she lived, and arranged to meet in a parking lot, some distance away from the shelter. To explain all the secrecy, she told Jeff she was a KGB agent. Jeff was immediately amused, knowing that she was joking, but did not pressure her. He was confident that when she was ready to tell him her story, she would.

After a lovely, respectful and decent date with Jeff, Katerina made her 8pm curfew. She was excited to have met him, because with him she felt safe. After a couple of dates, Katerina opened up to Jeff and told him about her situation with Frank. If he was not up for it, she’d rather have ended their short affair than fall in love and lose him. But Jeff was not intimidated by the likes of Frank. 

In December 2002, the INS granted Katerina the right to stay in America. It was a tremendous sense of relief and she could finally look for a place to live. Fully aware of Katerina’s complicated situation, Jeff offered her a place to stay, so she could move out of the women’s shelter. He did the gentlemanly thing and offered her her own room in his 3-bedroom Cobb County house, proving that he didn’t expect anything from her. He just wanted to help.

Trying to be as discreet as possible, Katerina moved into Jeff’s home, hoping and praying Frank did not follow her. But that was wishful thinking. Soon after moving in, she received a phone call at Jeff’s home, it was Frank… His husky, broody voice mumbled:

“Are you at home, whore?”

He also left a message on the answering machine, threatening Katerina and Jeff by saying he knew how he was going to kill them both. Katerina realised that Frank would never leave her alone. She feared for her life and knew the only way he’d ever stop is if she were no longer alive. Dutifully, Katerina reported the phone calls and threats to Cob County Police. But Frank never called from his home phone, only from payphones – and then, never the same one. He also disguised his voice, and although Katerina and Jeff knew it was Frank, there was no way to definitively prove it.

Just before Jeff and Katerina left for Colorado, where they were going to spend Christmas with his family, Jeff wanted to pull Katerina’s car around the back of the house. He reversed, but when he wanted to stop, the brakes were not working. The car ended up in the neighbours’ garden across the road. Luckily, Jeff was unharmed. They had the car towed for repair, and the mechanic notified them that the brakes had been cut and that there was also water in the gas tank. The water may not necessarily cause immediate damage to a car, but it can harm the engine and cause frequent breakdowns.

Katerina and Jeff didn’t have to guess whose work it was, but it was confirmed when Frank called and asked Katerina if she liked her ‘Christmas gift’. A neighbour also said that they had noticed a red truck in the street, shortly before the incident.

Meg Rogers was immediately concerned when she learnt that Frank had cut Katerina’s brakes. His behaviour was escalating and he seemed to be ready to harm or even kill Katerina. Living with Jeff, Katerina was in a different county than before, and Meg was worried that her local police did not know the background of her case. She contacted Cobb County detective Debbie Hollan – who had many years of experience in stalking cases. In fact, her work was crucial in updating Georgia’s anti-stalking law in 1998.

Detective Hollan met with Katerina and Jeff and encouraged them to keep a log of every time Frank attempted to contact them. Because every time he did, he was in breach of the protective order against him. 

But Frank was conniving and sneaky, and always seemed to be two steps ahead of them. He did seemingly trivial things, like redirecting Katerina and Jeff’s mail to unknown addresses in Oklahoma, California and New York. They only got a wind of the situation when someone returned the mail to their address in Marietta, Cobb Country. Katerina informed detective Hollan, who also believed Frank was behind it, but knew it would be near-impossible to prove. 

In June 2003, Katerina was made aware of something that made her cringe. Someone had written her name and phone number in a men’s room, on the third floor of Meg Rogers’ office building in Cherokee County, Meg informed police, who sent an officer out to photograph the graffiti. A local landscaper told Meg that Frank was bragging about re-directing Katerina’s mail and the graffiti, and Meg informed police of that too.

The problem was – other than tampering with the brakes of Katerina’s car, Frank did not pose a physical threat to her. Also, police could not prove that Frank was the one who had cut the brakes. He was intimidating, no doubt, but since Katerina left her marital home for prison, Frank had not harmed her physically.

Police’s hands were tied, and it seemed to Katerina that the situation was hopeless. It was clear that Frank had no intention of stopping his harassing behaviour. Katerina had left him almost two years before, yet, he was still obsessing over her, and trying his best to make her life a living hell. 

And he was out to get Jeff too. When one of Frank’s neighbours had the tyres stolen from their car, Frank informed police that he saw Jeff Brunot in the neighbour’s yard. This was nonsense and nothing came of it, but Jeff was taken in for questioning and made to feel like a criminal.

Because of Frank, Katerina and Jeff decided to move to Vermont, hoping to escape his incessant harassment. They were still wrapping things up in Georgia, when Jeff received an email from an anonymous sender. It contained a provocative photo of Katerina dressed in a Santa Suit with the message: 

“Scroll down to Katerina and enjoy.”

Thanks to the IP address, this email led police to Frank Sheridan’s home computer. On 5 September police executed a search warrant at Frank’s house in Woodstock and took his computer in for examination. Katerina’s Santa-suit photo was in a folder, full of photos taken while she was married to Frank. They found firearms and ammunition in the house, as well as pornographic materials, including videotapes of Frank having sex with unidentified women. 

His house showed a bit of Frank’s personality: every little thing had its exact spot. Even canned food in the pantry was stacked neatly in alphabetical order, with labels facing front. It seemed unnatural, and they realised that Katerina would have been expected to keep house to this nonsensical, regimented standard. 

Investigators were confident that they had enough evidence to arrest Frank Sheridan for aggravated stalking. But Frank was nowhere to be found. But they had his computer and were able to establish exactly where he was. He had saved his travel itinerary, and he was, in fact, in Russia, courting his next unwitting victim.

When Frank returned to the States, police were ready, waiting for him at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. As soon as he walked through customs, with the help of airport security, police arrested him. 

With Frank behind bars, Katerina experienced what a somewhat normal life in her adoptive country looked like. She and Jeff no longer had the need to move to Vermont, and they were optimistic about the future. However, the nightmare was not over yet.

Frank spent close to five months in prison, awaiting trial. In January 2004, Frank was found guilty of aggravated stalking, and given five-year probation. He also stood trial in Cobb Country for the harassing phone calls and emails and was released on $10,000 bond. That very same day, Frank walked free.

Suddenly, Katerina’s situation was even more scary than before. They had poked the bear and now he was out of hibernation. Frank had spent the last couple of months in jail and had a criminal record – and in his mind – it was all Katerina’s fault. The woman who wouldn’t even be in America if HE didn’t bring her over and married her. He was furious and investigators feared for Katerina’s safety. 

But uncharacteristically, Frank stayed away. An optimist would have thought that he had learnt his lesson, but detective Hollan knew that a man like Frank was not likely to back down. It was a nerve-racking six months and Katerina and Jeff felt that Frank was a ticking time bomb that could explode back into their lives at any minute. Police kept an eye on Frank, to prevent him from striking back. For a while it genuinely seemed like he had cleaned up his act. But then he intercepted Katerina and Jeff’s mail again. Well, by intercepted I mean he stole it from their mailbox. This time, he took a blank cheque that was sent to Jeff. Frank cashed a cheque of more than $5,000, forging Jeff’s signature.

Katerina and Jeff had to double take when they saw their bank statement. There was only one person who would do this to them: Frank Sheridan. However, Frank had overplayed his hand this time. Security footage inside the bank proved that Frank was the person who cashed the cheque, not Jeff.

This was a violation of his probation and police had what was needed to arrest him. However, Frank was nowhere to be found. As quickly as he re-appeared, he disappeared again. Police kept surveillance on his house and when he eventually returned, they moved in to arrest him. 

At 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, August 10th, 2004, sheriff’s deputy Patrick Neal saw Frank Sheridan arriving at his house. He went inside and came out a short while later, with some items he put in his truck. Before he could leave, deputy Neal approached Frank to arrest him. But Frank wasn’t the kind of guy who would go down without a fight. In one of the bags he was carrying, he had a loaded shotgun, and he shot at the police officer. Deputy Neal recalled being hit five times: in the face, chest and leg. He realised that there was no way out of the situation and that Frank Sheridan was not backing down. The injured officer fired back and Frank was killed after a massive shoot-out. All-up, 25 rounds of ammunition were fired between the two men. Deputy Neal was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and survived the shooting. 

After Frank’s death, police learnt that he was in the process of moving to North Carolina. He had rented an apartment and joined a shooting club, using a variety of assumed names – that of missing persons.

One of the items Frank was putting into his truck when he was approached by Deputy Neal was a box containing Katerina’s wedding dress. Investigator Debbie Hollan, who had been on the case for years said that she feared that Frank would not have stopped until he had killed Katerina, and most likely Jeff too. She believed that, based on the level of Frank’s obsession with Katerina, he would never have left Atlanta, knowing that he had lost Katerina forever. In all likelihood, he was on his way to shoot her, in a dramatic ending, which is why he had her wedding dress and a firearm on him.

Between 11,000 to 16,500 women make their way to America each year, working through international marriage brokers. In 2006, two years after Frank Sheridan’s death, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) was brought in to protect women like Katerina. Match-making organisations are also required to vet clients to ensure they are not on the National Sex Offender Public Registry. Spousal visa applications are also limited and closely scrutinised.

When Katerina heard about Frank’s death, she was sad. She found it tragic that he had become so obsessed that it ruined his life. In the aftermath of Frank’s death, Katerina was able to finally move on with her life. She completed the necessary qualifications to become a teacher for elementary and middle school. She married Jeff and they have two daughters together. Her love of art never died and she had illustrated a children’s book and sells her paintings online.

Katerina owes her life to strangers who stepped in to help her in a dire situation. Meg Rogers from the women’s shelter, the bail bondsperson who helped her get out of prison without Frank’s knowledge, and the law enforcement officers who took her plight to heart. And of course, Jeff Brunot, who met her amid an emotional hurricane, and never gave up on her.

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