Peters Township woman speaks out for first time about violent hammer attack, her recovery

PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Peter’s Township woman is speaking out for the first time about the night she was attacked with a hammer.

Jen Pardini, 27, woke up in the ICU in July 2023, her head shaved, stitches stretching from her forehead clear down her head all the way to her ear. Doctors told her that against all odds she’d survived a domestic violence attack.

“Doctors, the DA, my parents, every single person has said that they thought that I was going to die,” Pardini said.

Her ex-boyfriend of two and a half years, William “Mac” Oberschelp is charged with attempted murder and awaiting trial in the Washington County jail.

Previous coverage: ‘She’s a fighter’: Family of woman brutally attacked with hammer in Peters Township speaks out

According to the police report, Pardini broke up with her ex and moved out of their apartment and back home with her parents, ten days before the attack.

Investigators said Oberschelp admitted to taking an Uber to a gas station near her parents’ house, walking to the home and entering while everyone was asleep. Pardini woke to him in her bedroom.

“Somewhere around 12 o’clock, I opened my eyes and I saw my ex-boyfriend in my bedroom,” she said.

Pardini said he’d never hurt her physically before this night, so she agreed to go outside and talk.

“The second that we got back there, he pulled a knife out and he held it up to my neck. And he said if I moved he would slit me,” she said.

Pardini took off running for her life, the distance from the shed out back to her parents door.

“And I thought I was gonna beat him. I was gonna shut the door and he would be stuck outside,” Pardini said.

Her next memory was waking up in the ICU, tubes in her throat.

“And as soon as he said that my boyfriend hit me with a hammer, it all immediately came back to me,” she said.

Peters Township police say Oberschelp swung a hammer into Jen’s head at least twice. He then kicked her in the face multiple times.

Her skull broke into pieces. Doctors reattached it with a metal plate. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken jaw, and lost five teeth. Doctors didn’t know if she’d walk again, talk again or have the ability to remember. Her eye muscle was badly damaged and too thin for an operation.

“My eye has been a huge, huge battle that I’ve had. I see double now because of everything,” Pardini said.

She decided to speak out to warn women of the domestic violence signs that may not be as obvious. She said while Oberschelp had never hurt her before the hammer attack, he had hurt himself in front of her.

We reached out to experts at the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh who say this is a form of psychological domestic abuse. They say self-harm can be part of the power and control cycle and is a red flag.

“The only time he ever did something to me like domestically, he held me on his chest and punched himself in the head,” Jen said.

Jen has had numerous surgeries and rehab and is still searching for a surgeon who may be able to straighten her eye.

She’s back at work at a Peter’s Township hair salon and not letting anything stop her. She’s recently started a TikTok to help other victims of DV, and use her survival story to make a difference.

“You have to show that you are tough and you’re strong and no matter what happens, you hold your head high,” Pardini said.

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The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7

• Call 800-799-7233
• Text BEGIN to 88788

You can contact the Women’s Center & Shelter:

• 24/7 Hotline - 412-687-8005
• Text: (412) 744-8445

Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center (Alle-Kiski Valley) 24/7 Hotline 724-224-1266, https://www.akhopecenter.org/

Crisis Center North (Northern Suburbs of Allegheny County)24/7 Hotline 412-364-5556 24/7 Toll Free Hotline 1- 866-782-0911Text (SMS) line 412-444-7660, https://www.crisiscenternorth.org/

Center for Victims (Mon-Yough Area and Allegheny County)24/7 Hotline 1-866-644-2882, https://www.centerforvictims.org/

Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate (State of Pennsylvania)Hotline 1- 800-563-6399, https://www.ova.pa.gov/

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