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Victim of hammer attack is ‘strongest person I’ve ever met’

Jamie Belty, 23, enduring surgeries following near-fatal hammer attack.

Jamie Belty, 23, of Cincinnati, was critically injured when she was attacked by her hammer-wielding boyfriend, Joshua Berkheimer, 25, during the early morning hours of April 25. Belty continues to recover in Miami Valley Hospital, although her condition is improving, family and friends say.

Contributed photo Jamie Belty, 23, of Cincinnati, was critically injured when she was attacked by her hammer-wielding boyfriend, Joshua Berkheimer, 25, during the early morning hours of April 25. Belty continues to recover in Miami Valley Hospital, although her condition is improving, family and friends say.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Blog: Read the investigation summary

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By Dave Greber, Staff Writer Updated 11:26 AM Monday, May 10, 2010

HAMILTON — Joshua Berkheimer delivered “several more potentially deadly strikes to (Jamie Belty’s) head and facial area” even after police officers announced their presence with weapons drawn, according to a summary of the internal investigation released Friday, May 7, regarding an officer-involved fatal shooting.

Hamilton police were called at about 3:50 a.m. April 25 to the Princeton Square Apartments after neighbors reporting hearing sounds of violence escalate.

Upon arriving, police officers Casey Johnson and Aaron Hucke opened the unlocked door to Berkheimer’s apartment to find the 25-year-old Hamilton man “knelt down next to (Belty’s) head with a claw hammer in his right hand,” according to the summary of the investigation provided by Hamilton police Lt. Scott Scrimizzi.

Johnson ordered Berkheimer to drop the hammer, but instead he began “striking the defenseless Belty in the head.” Johnson then “raised his weapon from a 'low ready’ position and fired one shot from his Glock 35 pistol, striking Berkheimer in upper right side of his chest. Officer Johnson stated that Berkheimer was able to strike the female three to four times before he fell backwards from being shot,” Scrimizzi wrote.

Belty continues to improve at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where she underwent surgery Tuesday. Hospital staff told police “she had both sides of her jaws broken, both cheek bones and her nose was broken in addition to the head and skull injuries.”

Police said the day after the shooting, they made the decision to enter the apartment after hearing threatening language.

Hucke told supervisors: “I remember hearing something about a video or taking a picture of something. Then I heard the male say “I just bashed her head in with a hammer and a wrench.”