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Dishari Mukherjee
Living with Domestic Abuse
Cassie Peterson and John Peterson were married for 7 years and were living in Athens, Ohio. They had two children each from previous relationships. Cassie’s children have been diagnosed with autism. Cassie and John utilized government support programs to take care of themselves and children in the neighborhood who would frequently spend the entire day with them, saying they received love and care from Cassie that was not present in their own households. Gradually Cassie realized that she was in an abusive marriage and faced domestic violence. She divorced John, and left with her children.
 Cassie Peterson listens to her husband, John Peterson, yell at her over disagreements regarding raising children, in her apartment bedroom in Athens, Ohio on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. The couple also argued about marital issues and John blamed her for everything wrong with it. |  Cassie Peterson, center, speaks with her neighbor while holding Owen McPherson, 12 months old, a baby she looks after, while her kids and other kids from the neighborhood play outside her house at Campus Heights, Athens, Ohio on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. |  Clockwise from right, Payton, who’s family declined to provide his last name , Raylynn White, 7, friends of Cassie Peterson’s son Samuel Peterson, 8, play in the kids room at Cassie’s apartment, in Campus Heights, Athens, Ohio on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. |
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 John Peterson, third from left, teases Payton during lunch while other children from the neighborhood enjoy the interaction, in Athens, Ohio, Tuesday, October 13, 2020. |  Kaylee White, 13, plays with Cassie’s pet dog Raney in Cassie’s apartment at Campus Heights, Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. |  Elijah Peterson, 7, left, Cassie’s youngest son who suffers from autism, covers his ears as his step-father, John Peterson and one of John’s sons from his first marriage, Joseph Peterson, fight, while Cassie’s oldest son, Samuel Peterson, 8, stands in time out as punishment issued by John for not listening to him, in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. |
 Joseph Peterson, 14, John Peterson’s child from a previous marriage, cries while running away from his father after John tried to choke him in the kitchen over a dispute related to a mobile device, in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. |  Samuel Peterson, 8, Cassie’s eldest son who suffers from Autism, runs away from his parents after an altercation occurred between his step-father and step-brother, in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. “I hate you Dad, you nearly killed Joseph, I hate you,” said Samuel Peterson, before running out of the house. |  Owen McPherson, 12 months old, looks outside the window at other children playing in the yard, in Athens, Ohio on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. |
 Cassie Peterson, center, eats lunch with her son Samuel Peterson, 8, while John Peterson cooks in the kitchen in Athens, Ohio on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. |
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