Your Worst Nightmare on ID looks at a case of extreme domestic abuse this week when Jonathan Pearson attempted to murder his girlfriend and mother of an infant daughter Joi Partain with a couple of golf clubs in 2009.
Joi Partain had left her husband and moved to Ocala, Florida, with her infant daughter and had begun a hopeful new relationship with her boyfriend, Jonathan Pearson. Unfortunately, he quickly began to exhibit signs of violence, mainly when he drank alcohol.
One night in 2009, the pair had been arguing for hours when Pearson, in a fit of rage, tried to kill Partain.
Partain was lying in bed, preparing to go to sleep when she was violently attacked. Pearson assaulted her with two golf clubs. Using a driver, he smashed her in the face approximately 10 and 15 times. He struck her so hard the driver snapped in half, so he continued beating her with a putter.
Partain never lost consciousness. She says she lay perfectly still and focused on staying alive as she thought about her newborn baby in a nearby room.
Partain says she knew that help would be coming soon as she knew her roommate had telephoned paramedics. Within a few minutes, medical staff had loaded her into an ambulance.
She suffered numerous injuries, including losing an eye and breaking 22 bones. She has since undergone dozens of operations to restore her health.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelPartain has spoken about the not so subtle signs that Pearson was prone to violence; she says he’d struck and shoved her a few times.
Jonathan Pearson had spoken about wanting to kill Joi Partain
Partain’s roommate, Alexa Connolly, has said that Pearson struck his girlfriend in the face while at a house party a couple of weeks before the main attack. Connolly also claims: “He said he had a fantasy about killing her [Partain]”
Two months after his brutal attack, Pearson pleaded guilty to attempted murder with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by ten years of probation. He’s scheduled to be released in September 2023. Pearson claims he “snapped” in a “moment of anger.”
Partain is trying her best to move on with her life and now campaigns for victims of domestic abuse. She advises those in abusive relationships to escape as soon as possible.
She warns: “Whether you are in a relationship for two weeks or 15 years, if you see signs of abuse, it will only get worse … it will not get better.”
More from Your Worst Nightmare
Follow the links to read about more horrific crimes profiled on Your Worst Nightmare.
Micah Rine Pate knew her husband Thomas Pate was cheating on her with another woman, but she hoped they could repair their tattered marriage. Unfortunately, Thomas shot her in the back of the head and dumped her remains in the Loosahatchie River in Tennessee.
In April 1998, Donald Flagg entered the home of Anthony and Debbie Puglisi. He shot Anthony dead and kidnapped Debbie. He kept Debbie locked up in his house, where he repeatedly raped her for five days before she managed to escape when he left for work.
Your Worst Nightmare airs Mondays at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.
I truly fear for her safety when he is released. 15 years is not enough time for this brutal attempted murder. I’m sure she has had years of surgeries, has a permanent disability with losing her eye and most likely has a life sentence of PTSD from the traumatic, violent experience. Why should he get less than what he gave her?
Joi has a brother and she probably has a significant other and many friends..I believe she was engaged at the time they taped her story..I AGREE,15 years is a slap on the wrist for what he did..Shoulda got life..Idk what “help” he got but it doesn’t matter,I’d like to punish this POS myself..
He looks like a wimp he should get turned out in prison and when he gets out beaten to an inch of death and fed to alligators and snakes down there!!!