Former girlfriend of ex-Seattle Seahawks OT Wheeler speaks out on alleged assault

The ex-girlfriend of former Seattle Seahawks player Chad Wheeler said she feels “beyond grateful” to be alive after the alleged assault last month.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Alleah Taylor told CBS This Morning that she feels that she has another chance in life after an incident that left her with a fractured arm and dislocated elbow, according to probable cause documents. Taylor said she’ll have bolts and a steel plate in her arm “forever,” and will have to deal with the ramifications of the attack for the “rest of my life.”

Seattle P-I does not typically identify victims of domestic violence, but Taylor spoke on the record in a CBS interview that aired nationally Wednesday morning.

“Beyond grateful,” Taylor said when asked how grateful she feels to be alive. “I really feel like God has blessed me with another chance. I want to try to use the time that I’ve been blessed with to help other people and get this story out and make sure people don’t feel alone and that this doesn’t happen again.”

Wheeler, 27, pleaded not guilty to domestic violence charges at his arraignment hearing last week. King County prosecutors charged him with first-degree domestic violence assault, domestic violence unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest -- all felonies -- after he allegedly assaulted and strangled Taylor at a Kent residence on Jan. 22. Wheeler has a case setting hearing scheduled for Tuesday and a trial set for April 6. He could face more than 12 years in prison if convicted.

Taylor spoke at Wheeler’s arraignment hearing last month. She said she did so to show he does not have “power” over her.

“I didn’t want him to think that he had that power over me,” Taylor told CBS. “That I wasn’t going to defend myself. And I thought how easy that would be for him and his legal team to be able to say whatever they want without having to look me in the eye.”

Probable cause documents and the police report detailed a vicious scene of abuse in which Taylor accused Wheeler of choking her into unconsciousness twice. CBS obtained the 911 call made on Jan. 22 made by Taylor, who in a hushed and fearful voice said “please help me, I’m going to die” from the bathroom of the residence.

With her voice breaking and her eyes welling up with tears, Taylor described to CBS the most difficult part of the whole ordeal.

"I have to say the hardest part about all this wasn’t the surgeries, wasn’t any of that,” Taylor said. “It was getting a call from my nieces and nephews. They thought they had lost me. And the pain in their voice, I will never forget that. I will never forget that.”

The Seahawks cut Wheeler amid the investigation and condemned the allegations of domestic violence.