Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Obsession: Dark Desires: Beauty in the Bronx’ features Evimer Duclerc as she recalled the most horrific phase of her life. She was nearly shot to death by an obsessed former boyfriend after she refused to remain in a relationship with him after being regularly abused physically by him. The episode narrates how the brave survivor coped with the aftermath of the attack, and how she recovered.
Who is Evimer Duclerc?
Evimer Duclerc worked as a manager at Duane Reade in Manhattan, New York, in early 2009 and shared more than a deep bond with her close girlfriends. Her vibrant personality and stunning looks attracted a lot of male attention, with one man, in particular, being Ramon Lalondriz-Castillo, who worked in a neighborhood deli. Evimer’s friend Joana Candelario said, “Every time I would come over to the store, he would keep asking me, ‘Who is she? Can you give me her number?’ And this and that.”
According to the episode, he first caught Evimer’s attention when he stepped in to save her from an attempted robbery. After being apprised of his feelings toward her, Evimer stated, “I found Ramon interesting, and I went out on a date.” While he was protective and caring, and it seemed initially a match, Evmer soon found out it was not as perfect as it appeared. She recalled, “Early in the relationship, we had a couple of fights — little arguments — but it was relationship problems that escalated with time.”
Soon, Evimer began to face physical abuse at Ramon’s hands. Soon the abuse became almost frequent affairs, and even sometimes in front of her friends. Her friends, Dynasty and Joana, were beginning to see red flags waving everywhere, especially after Evimer told them about one particular night of rage. Evimer alleged, “Ramon tried me force me to have sex with him. I didn’t want to have sex with him that night, and he was so mad at the fact that I was saying no that he pulled me from the bed. I was wearing thongs, and he cut me.”
Despite the frequent abuse, Evimer “really wanted to see the good in him.” She forgave the alleged rape, stating they were drunk, and was sure Ramon would violate her consent again. However, she was in for a rude shock when she and the girls took their annual girl trip to Florida. Ramon manipulated and coerced Evimer to take him along. After a night of drinking to celebrate her birthday, he wanted Evimer to return to the hotel. But she point-blank refused.
A furious Ramon went alone, and Evimer returned a few hours later to be brutally assaulted and beaten. Evimer recalled, “He punched me. He threw me down, hit me. When I got to reach the door to pull it, he grabbed me by the purse to pull me back. He stood in the room, and he was saying he was just saying he was going to kill himself, to not call the cops, that he was going to throw himself off the balcony.” Eventually, the hotel management called 911, and authorities arrested the furious Ramon.
Evimer Duclerc is Moving Forward in Life Today
It was a moment of reckoning for Evimer and her friends. Ramon made bail in Florida, returned to New York, and immediately started trying to win her back. However, Evimer refused, and it took two agonizing months for Ramon to finally get the message. In accordance with one of his typical rage episodes, Ramon broke into her apartment and destroyed the whole place in November 2009. After she called the cops and the authorities had him pay for the damage, Ramon laid low for a few days before starting to harass her again.
Evimer once again was forced to live a life shadowed by a madman. On a frigid January 2010 night, her co-worker, Demetrius Johnson, noticed Ramon in the store parking lot. As she and Demetrius headed for the train station together, Ramon ran toward them, shoved her colleague aside, and assaulted her. Evimer fell on the pavement as he pulled out a gun and fired at her, hitting her once in the arm and once in the head. The second bullet grazed her finger and lodged inches above her right ear.
Still conscious, a terrified Evimer saw Ramon was getting ready to fire his third bullet, but the gun jammed. She stated, “I feel like if the gun would have never jammed on the third strike, that would have been the bullet that killed me. It was at a close distance.” Ramon fled the scene, but the authorities caught him, and he got sentenced to 15 years. She remained conscious as she was rushed to the hospital, and the medical personnel informed her the bullet lodged in her head was just one centimeter away from her brain.
Evimer believes she owes her life to her friend Demetrius who valiantly tried to fight off Ramon. Even after Ramon was sent to prison, she recalls how she woke up panicking from her sleep. However, she claims, “I got the help that I needed. I went to therapy. I did what I had to do. I went back to school. I got my bachelor’s degree. I didn’t let that stop my life. I had to continue. I had to make sure that this was not going to set my life up. This wasn’t going to be it.”
Read More: Where is Ramon Lalondriz-Castillo Now?
