Only Mine is based loosely on the true story of Laura Kucera. In the movie, Laura's character is named Julie, and the movie is about Julie dating a cop named David.
While Julie is happy with David at first, he starts to do certain things that upset Julie.
For example, he texts her way too much, and sends multiple texts without an answer. Generally, texting others is not illegal. And not harassment. But- if the texts get threatening, or start to upset the other person (like in this case), then it becomes a problem. If your significant other, or anyone, asks you to stop contacting them, the safest thing to do is stop texting them. Even though this does not seem serious, it is emotionally abusive and can be very hurtful to the other person. It can cause fear, anxiety, panic, etc. In some cases, if a person continuously contacts the other person even after being asked to stop, the person being texted can take legal action to be left alone.
David also shows up at places unannounced. Again, if someone has already asked you to stop contacting them, it is probably not a great idea to just show up where you know they will be.
He keeps pursuing her even after she has made it clear they are over. Julie goes to the police, but with David being a police officer, they dismiss her.
Eventually, David kidnaps her, takes her to the woods, and shoots her. He leaves her for dead, but she survives. In the true story, with Laura, her kidnapper is sentenced to prison.
The take away from this story is that 1) if someone asks you to stop contacting them, stop, even texting can be emotional abuse, and 2) if you feel like something is wrong, break it off, and tell someone. Unfortunately for Julie, even telling someone did not help her, but luckily she did manage to save herself. The saddest part about the movie is that the police did not believe her. As an advocate one of the best things you can do is believe what the person telling you, even if it does not seem serious, or real at the time. Domestic violence situations rarely start with extreme physical violence. They most often start with emotional abuse and get worse as time goes on. If someone discloses emotional abuse, believe them, and if you feel comfortable, inform them about local DV shelters and organizations that can help them safety plan.
For more information about emotional abuse, and being a certified advocate, take our next training starting this November.