According to reports, 37 percent of all domestic abuse victims in the United States are men. Some men are even ashamed to admit that their wives abuse them. Josh Hilberling was a victim of spousal domestic abuse.
Josh was born on May 30, 1988, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He played football while he was in high school and graduated in 2007. Following his graduation, he proceeded to serve in the United States Air Force.
Sadly, he lost his life at the hands of his eight-month-pregnant wife, Amber Hilberling, barely a year after they were married.
A History of Domestic Abuse
The couple had a remarkable history of domestic violence, and there had been protective orders on both sides.
About a month before he met his tragic end, Josh had gone to the Domestic Violence Intervention Services to get help. He told them his predicaments because even though he was being abused by his wife, he couldn’t leave because she was pregnant, and he wanted to be in the life of their child.
The Tulsa police later recovered a protective order that Josh had filed about a month before his life ended. He filed for this after Amber who was 19 hit him so badly on the head with a lamp that he needed 21 stitches to close up the wound.
However, after the couple refused to show up in court, the order was dismissed.
The tragic Event
The domestic violence continued and on June 7, 2011, 23-year-old Joshua Hilberling tragically lost his life after Amber pushed him out of the window of their 25th-floor apartment.
On that fateful day, the couple got into an argument in their apartment at the University Club Tower in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before she decided to end his life and make it look like he had taken his own life.
Josh who was 6-foot-5, 220-pound, fell from the 25th floor to the parking garage of the 8th floor.
According to Amber, Joshua had thrown something at the window, breaking it, and when she pushed him, he fell through the window and plunged 17 stories to the parking garage below.
Neighbors reported hearing Amber screaming “No, no, no!” followed by the sound of shattering glass. When paramedics arrived, Amber was found next to Joshua’s body, repeatedly asking them to “fix him.”
Conflicting Accounts and Legal Battles
The circumstances surrounding Joshua’s death were highly disputed. Amber claimed it was an accident, saying Joshua had “tripped and stumbled” into the window. However, the police charged her with first-degree murder, later reduced to second-degree murder.
Amber’s lawyer, Jason Corns, argued that Joshua was the aggressor and that Amber was the victim of domestic violence. In contrast, Joshua’s parents believed their son was the victim, stating, “We taught him to never hit a woman, but what we didn’t think to teach him was to get away.”
