Stabbing victim: Don't ignore the warning signs of abuse

ATLANTA — Pam Frank is thankful to be alive. She thought it was all over Sunday morning, when her estranged husband hovered over her bleeding chest.

“The moment that I got stabbed, the only thing that I could say was ‘Just save me for my baby,’” Frank cried. "Save me for Jada.”

Jada is Frank’s 4-year-old daughter with her husband of four years, Marlon Dobbins. Dobbins is in the Cobb County jail, facing charges across three jurisdictions, including aggravated assault, theft and kidnapping.

Investigators say Dobbins broke into Frank's Northwest Atlanta home, stabbed her and took her to the hospital. Then he headed to Decatur, where he allegedly forced his way into Frank's aunt's house to take the couple's toddler. The girl was visiting with family for the weekend, as she often does.

“I said ‘What are you doing?’” remembered Frank’s aunt, Debra Robinson.

Robinson said Dobbins was standing over her bed around 7 a.m., demanding to take the child to a family gathering. At the same time, Frank was calling in, frantically warning the family.

“When she was calling me, she was like ‘Auntie, he done stabbed me. He done stabbed me. Don’t let him take Jada. Don’t let him take her,'” Robinson told Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr.

An abduction alert for Jada ended Sunday afternoon, when police tracked Dobbins through Frank’s stolen cellphone. He was at his Mableton home with the couple’s daughter, who was unharmed.

Dobbins arrest ended a search by Atlanta, DeKalb and Cobb County police.

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On Monday, Carr spoke with Frank in a Metro Atlanta hospital, where she is recovering from stab wounds that punctured her right lung.

“I don’t know what he was going through,” Frank said, referring to Dobbins. “I don’t know what he was thinking about.”

Frank says earlier in the day, she had a cordial text conversation with her husband. They discussed purchasing tickets for an upcoming show of "Disney on Ice" at the Fox Theatre.

Later in the evening, she said he made his way into her gated apartment complex, and kicked in her door. They had not discussed any visits and had been separated for months.

“Anything could have happened to us that night and one of us could not have been here today,” Frank said.

Frank admits there had been unreported physical abuse in the past that led to her leave the couple’s Austell home last year.

She said she will struggle with how to explain the ordeal to her young daughter, who loves her father dearly.

But she warns against ignoring the warning signs and concerns from loved ones.

“This could have been my last day,” Frank said. “It could be yours. You never know what somebody is willing to do to get your extent of love. Love should not be painful. Love should not hurt in a way that you fear ever seeing that person again.”

Cox Media Group