On Sept. 8, 2010, Marti Hill did not show up for work. According to her co-workers, "Marti is very dependable and reliable ... she would never miss a meeting." They became alarmed.

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The Prairie Village, Kansas, Police Department was called. They stopped by Marti's home to check on her. The house looked "eerily empty." The front door was closed, but not locked. Officers went in to investigate.

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Police officers found nothing unusual upstairs. They went down to check out the basement.

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The next three photos include bloody images of the crime scene and images of Marti Hill just after her brutal attack.

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In the basement, police officers made a startling discovery. Marti Hill was found in a pool of blood. She had been badly beaten and her neck was sliced. Police described her wounds as "savage." She was clinging to life.

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A technician holds up a ruler to show the size of a hematoma located behind Marti's ear.

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Marti was rushed to the hospital. Her lead trauma surgeon said she was so badly beaten, "we could not tell if it was a man or woman, couldn't tell if she was young or old, couldn't tell what race she was."

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While Marti was fighting to stay alive, detectives started their investigation. One person they wanted to talk to was Brian Pennington, a man who had recently done work on Marti's home.

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Brian Pennington lived with his wife and children in Leeton, Missouri -- approximately two hours away from Marti Hill. Two days after the attack, police went to his house and interviewed him.

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Police immediately noticed that Brian Pennington had scratches on his face. He said they were from his pit bull. Police did not believe him. "They didn't appear to be consistent with what a dog would do," said a detective.

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Brian Pennington gave police permission to look at the clothes in his hamper.

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Inside the hamper was a pair of Brian Pennington's jeans. Detectives noticed there were red stains "towards the knees and down towards the bottom portion of the pant leg. Pennington told them it was grease. They didn't believe him.

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Brian Pennington signed a written consent form allowing detectives to take to the crime lab his jeans, boots, DNA swabs and also pictures of the scratches on his face.

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While detectives waited for the results from the crime lab, they received a call from Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. Marti Hill was awake. She had identified Brian Pennington as the person who attacked her.

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Police had enough for an arrest warrant. Five days after the attack, Brian Pennington was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

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Marti and her family were relieved Pennington was behind bars. Now they could focus on Marti's recovery. Her two children, Mackenzie and Stephen, stood by her side and helped her get better.

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Marti worked hard to relearn how to talk and walk. She was able to leave the hospital after just four weeks. It was important for her to get back to being a mom.

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After making a deal with prosecutors, Brian Pennington was sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison.

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Today, Marti is thankful to everyone who helped "make things right", including her family, friends, the detectives, prosecutor and her co-workers. From left: sister Cami Gill, daughter Mackenzie Hill, Marti Hill, sister Monica Gill, and mother Shirley Roth.

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With the help of friends, Marti Hill, center, has created a website, www.martihill.com, to help women recover from traumatic events. At left is Joyce Layman Blackburn and at right, Sara Kincaid.

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