Woman testifies against estranged husband accused of attacking her with tire iron

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A woman testified in court Thursday against her estranged husband, who is accused of attacking her with a tire iron earlier this month in Greensburg.

Cori Nowalk is bruised and battered after police said her estranged husband, Robert Emerick, tried to kill her Dec. 9 with a tire iron.

However, Nowalk told Channel 11’s Courtney Brennan that she refuses to see herself as a victim, and that’s why she testified in court.

“I’m just glad to be here, and to be alive and still a mom,” Nowalk said. “From this point of my nose all the way to my temple, it looks like shattered glass on an Xray, but I survived and that’s the most important thing.”

Investigators said Emerick hid inside Nowalk’s home and attacked her with a tire iron when she returned from a friend’s birthday party. Police said Emerick is accused of hitting her 40 times.

“These are lacerations from the tire iron,” Nowalk said. “I’ve never been one to lay down and take a beating, but I was kind of forced to.”

Nowalk said she never expected Emerick would do something like this, and that he wasn’t violent during their six-year marriage.

“I got to face my attacker today and did so with pride in my heart. I’m just really thankful to be alive and I’m thankful to still be a mom to my kids,” Nowalk said.

The prosecution planned to have Nowalk and a police officer testify in court Thursday, but after Nowalk’s strong testimony, the prosecutor didn’t ask the officer to take the stand.

WPXI