Survivor recounts 1996 assault as she prepares to testify against ex-boyfriend
C.C. Opanowski, who was attacked by her former boyfriend Shawn Doyle in 1996, is speaking publicly for the first time and plans to testify in the case against him.
In January 1996, C.C. Opanowski was assaulted in her family home in Hudson Falls, New York, after her ex-boyfriend Shawn Doyle forced his way inside, restrained her on a couch, and used scissors to cut off her ponytail while threatening her with a knife. Her roommate Shannon McCauliffe called for help, and police arrived but failed to separate the two, placing them together in a police car and treating the incident as a minor dispute.
Doyle was subsequently arrested and charged with menacing, harassment and trespassing. Nearly thirty years later, Opanowski has agreed to speak with investigators and testify in court, describing the assault in detail to strengthen the case against Doyle.
Why it matters
The testimony could be pivotal in securing a conviction for a violent domestic attacker.
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