Peters Township community rallies behind woman brutally attacked with hammer by ex-boyfriend

PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — People in Peters Township and beyond are sharing their deepest sympathies, prayers, and dollars, by the thousands, for a woman brutally attacked with a hammer over the weekend.

“For me personally, I’m just praying for her and hoping she gets better and her family stays hopeful and knows they have support from Peters and other communities,” said Lauren Masteller, who works in Peters Township, Washington County.

An online fundraiser hit over $100,000 to help Jen Pardini recover from a traumatic brain injury and other serious conditions.

“Peters Township, everything around here, we just want her to know that we care for her, we care for her family. We’re all here for her,” said Rachael Paquin, who just got a tattoo from Jen days before police say Jen’s ex-boyfriend, William Oberschelp, attacked her.

Paquin was devastated by the news.

“I went to Fireside Beauty Bar, where she was working and she tattooed something small on my ankle for me and 10 days later I hear about this. It’s just super sad,” Paquin said. “No one deserves to get hurt by anyone, let alone someone that once loved someone. It’s just gut wrenching.”

Luke Makrinos graduated high school with Jen. He told Channel 11, “She was always just super nice and had a bright attitude towards everything and I never thought of a single thing she did wrong.”

According to the police report Jen broke up with Oberschelp and moved out of their shared apartment, and back home with her parents, ten days prior to the attack.

Investigators say Oberschelp admitted to taking an Uber to Jen’s parents’ Thomsonville Road house — uninvited — going into her bedroom and waking her up early Saturday morning.

The pair went outside, began arguing, and Oberschelp admitted to hitting Jen in the back and head with a hammer before kicking her while she was on the ground.

Police say he then took her phone and ran off, leaving her lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

She was life-flighted to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition.

When officers came to his apartment Oberschelp told them, “I’m the one you’re looking for,” according to police paperwork.

“I’m a young female too with an ex and it could’ve been me. It’s crazy to hear someone from the local area had that happen,” said Masteller.

Oberschelp is being held at the Washington County Prison on no bond.

Meanwhile, Peters Township police are asking neighbors to check their surveillance cameras for any video of the attack.

Officers are still trying to track down Jen’s phone. They ask that if you see it, or anything else possibly related to this incident, contact the department, and do not touch the item.

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