Photo by John F. Russell Editor’s note: To protect the identity of the victim in this story, Steamboat Pilot & Today has used a pseudonym to identify the victim and the defendant. This story focuses on domestic violence. STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — “What does it take in this county? For me to be killed before it matters?” Anne asked a law enforcement officer once. “Pretty much,” he responded. That conversation still echoes through Anne’s mind today — 15 years after she met Ryan, her ex-husband, whose abuse of Anne and her children resulted in a three-year sentence, which was shortened to six months due to COVID-19. The abuse also gave Anne a diagnosis of C-PTSD, a more severe form of PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder.