SAN ANTONIO — On Oct. 18, 2022, a mother of five was shot three times by her husband because she didn't prepare his meal.
She survived.
Monday, her husband was sentenced to three decades in prison.
For the first time, we're learning more about the abuse that happened inside the Poteet home.
"Physically and emotionally she is still struggling, but she's alive. She's free from that reign of abuse that she took for over 50 years," said Rosario Contero, speaking about her mother, 77-year-old Esther Contero.
Rosario is one of five children who grew up in an abusive home. The abuse came at the hands of her father, Alejandro Contero.
"We didn't know when we were kids that things he said to us were abusive. As we got older, we started realizing that was wrong. What he's doing is wrong. He's still doing it to us. He's trying to do it to his grandkids," Rosario explained.
She's relieved knowing her mother can now do what she wants in her own home. Putting up a new picture frame, changing the curtains, turning on the outside lights will now be choices Esther can make without being met with resistance.
"[My mother's] not having to worry about, am I going to upset him? Are the kids going to upset him if they come over to visit me? Is he going to be upset because I helped pick up one of the grandkids from school? Is he going to be upset because I did laundry for one of my daughters? Is he going to be upset because I cooked for my son who came from out of state to visit?"
Rosario, who testified in court, witnessed her father walk away in handcuffs.
Alejandro's new mugshot was shared with KENS 5 Friday night.
"We feel that [the sentencing] is just and fair," said Rosario. "He raised us to know that if we did something wrong, there would be consequences...He did something wrong, so he had to pay the price for it."
Alejandro Contero will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years. He will be 93 years old.
The couple has been married 56 years.
By sharing her family's story, Rosario hopes other victims will know help is out there. She created the hashtag #FamilyViolenceHasNoBoundaries, encouraging others to set boundaries in unhealthy relationships and to know their worth.
"It can happen to the girl in the mansion, the middle class, the lower class. It happens to the young and it does happen to the old," she said. "Just because you took vows, you made promises, you had children with someone, it doesn't mean that you have to put up with this for five days, five weeks, five months, 56 years."
The Safer Path Family Violence Shelter in Pleasanton has helped the family through the trauma, Rosario told KENS 5.
The City of San Antonio shared a list of resources for those suffering from domestic violence on their website.
To find a shelter or resources near you, visit domesticshelters.org and enter your zip code.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 by calling 800-799-7233.
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