The mother of a young woman killed by domestic violence spoke publicly for the first time about her own experience with abuse at a vigil for those affected by violence.

Theresa Gallo, the mother of Paige Gallo, spoke at the Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center’s annual Domestic Violence Vigil Thursday evening.

Paige Gallo, 19, of Council Bluffs, was killed by her fiance near Auburn on June 11, 2010. Gallo’s friend, Heather Campbell, 20, of Urbandale, was also killed.

Their killer, Luke Schleisman, 20, of Lake City, committed suicide.

At the vigil, Theresa Gallo said she had been repeatedly abused by her ex-husband during their three-year marriage.

“There were nights I went to bed wondering if I’d wake up tomorrow,” Gallo said. “I went to family functions with black eyes. I had marks on my neck where he choked me.”

Theresa Gallo, an air medical physicians’ assistant with the United States Army, said she never imagined she would be a victim of domestic abuse.

“I want to break the stereotype,” she said. “It’s not the person in the trailer you see once in awhile. It’s your neighbor. It’s your friends. Look for the signs.”

One of the reasons she decided to talk about her abuse was because of her daughter’s murder.

“I never shared any of those details with my own daughter,” Gallo said. “I never wanted her to know. But what if I had told her?”

She said Schleisman had a history of domestic violence.

“He had just come off of probation after threatening his past girlfriend with a gun,” Theresa Gallo said. “Literally one month to the day when the murder took place.”

She described the last time she saw her daughter, after she returned home from serving in Iraq.

Theresa Gallo said she and her daughter spent that day boating.

“The next time I was called to see my daughter was because there had been a murder. A double murder and a suicide,” she said. “I got the call at 2 in the morning. At the time they didn’t tell me what was going on, just that she was missing.”

Gallo said if people believe someone is being abused, they should speak up about it.

“Be the strong one,” she said. “Be the one to help. Take away the stigma. Take away the embarrassment.”

“I’m sharing this not for you to feel sorry for me,” Gallo added. “I want people to know it can happen to anybody.”