Only a few weeks have passed since "NCIS" actress Pauley Perrette was attacked by a man who appeared to be homeless, so it makes sense that facing him for the first time since in court on Wednesday was a very hard and emotional thing to do.
While at the preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, Perrette, 46, had to confront the 45-year-old man, David Merck, who allegedly attacked her last month outside of her home, according to The Los Angeles Daily News. Perrette fought back tears as she stood to give her testimony and recall what happened on the night she was assaulted, all while refusing to look at Merck until the moment she was asked to identify him.
She testified that he had grabbed her by the arm and repeatedly told her he was going to kill her. "He was so much stronger than me," she said in the courtroom. "I couldn't run. I couldn't fight...I was praying my heart out."
Merch stared at Perrette throughout her entire testimony and eventually pleaded not guilty to charges of making a threat and false imprisonment using violence, according to Yahoo! If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison. His bail was set at $60,000 after a judge denied his lawyer's requests to reduce the charges.
When the attack first happened, Perrette wrote a very lengthy and disturbing post to Twitter explaining it in detail. "Tonight was awful, life changing," she wrote. "And I'm only grateful to be alive."
Just last week, she tweeted that she was "ok" but "not great," letting her followers know just how big of an impact this incident had on her life. "How am I doing? Thank you, so much. I'm ok. Not great. Flashbacks, nightmares. Trauma is a strange thing. Almost being killed, tough..." she wrote, adding, "It comes harder after the shock wears off, then you're left with reality. I'm grateful to be alive. I hate my fear. But am afraid."
So, tonight was awful, life changing and I'm only grateful to be alive. It's here: pic.twitter.com/vXIT1pkVRc
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) November 13, 2015
