Mary Jo Buttafuoco
| Mary Jo Buttafuoco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 15, 1955 |
| Occupation | Author, motivational speaker |
| Spouse(s) | Joey Buttafuoco (div. 2003) |
Mary Jo Buttafuoco (born May 15, 1955) is an American author, motivational speaker, and ex-wife of Joey Buttafuoco. She was shot at her Nassau County, New York home in 1992 by Amy Fisher, a teenager with whom her husband was having an affair.[1] She survived the incident and eventually wrote a book about it.
Incident
Mary Jo's husband, Joey Buttafuoco, had an affair with Amy Fisher, who subsequently shot her in the face, on May 19, 1992. Although deafened in one ear and her face partially paralyzed, she survived the shooting and was able to give a description of her assailant and a T-shirt that Fisher had shown her before she shot her.
Aftermath
Joey Buttafuoco pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape and served four months in jail.[2] Mary Jo and her husband later moved to Southern California, where she eventually[3] filed divorce papers in Ventura County Superior Court on February 3, 2003.[4]
In 2006, Mary Jo underwent a facial reanimation procedure with facial plastic surgeon Babak Azizzadeh, involving static facial suspension, face lift, and eye lift procedures. These surgeries restored balance and gave her back her ability to smile. Next was surgery to widen the ear canal, which improved her hearing and prevented future infections. She also underwent physical therapy to strengthen her facial muscles, which she explained in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[5]
Book
Sixteen years after the incident Buttafuoco wrote a book telling her story, Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know. She was inspired to write the book after her son referred to her ex-husband as a sociopath. Not knowing what the word meant she looked it up and had a realization leading to her going public with her story.
References
- ↑ Milton, Pat (April 15, 1993). "Rape Charges Denied at Buttafuoco Hearing". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Joey Buttafuoco – Celebrity Mug Shot". Charles Montaldo. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
- ↑ "Ultimate Betrayals". Oprah.com. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Joey Buttafuoco, wife getting divorce". AP. May 6, 2003. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
- ↑ http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Ultimate-Betrayals