A Florida mother who was raped and kidnapped by her ex-husband after he tricked her daughter into helping facilitate the attack has spoken of her relief after he was jailed for life.
Alisa Mathewson told DailyMail.com of her horror after waking up from a nap with two of her children to find Trevor Summers, 47, at her Valrico home.
“I’ll never forget waking up and seeing him towering over me,” she said.
Summers was able to carry out the sick abuse in March 2017 after convincing her daughter to leave a window open, allowing her to sneak onto the property where she found Mathewson with two of her children.
He also convinced the then 14-year-old girl to take the other siblings to her house so they could go on strike.
Alisa Mathewson was raped and kidnapped by her ex-husband after he tricked their daughter into helping facilitate the attack.
Trevor Summers, 47, was sentenced to life in prison for the horrific March 2017 attack.
Once inside, Summers pinned the mother of five down and raped her while pushing a pillow into her face until she lost consciousness.
He then tied her wrists and ankles with scarves before putting a sock in her mouth and wrapping a nylon rope around her entire body, something she said “dehumanized me in a way I will never forget.”
The next day, Mathewson, 45, held her hostage in his home and forced her into his car while she was tied up, while Summers drove through several Florida counties.
“I thought I was going to die when he held me hostage,” Mathewson said.
While parked at a supermarket in Manatee County, Alisa tried to escape, but Trevor dragged her back to the vehicle, which caught the attention of a supermarket worker who called the police.
After fleeing to a nearby field to hide from police and dragging Mathewson with him, Summers attempted to strangle her with a rope.
During an hour-long ride with Mathewson, Trevor hid from police in a field, where he slit his own throat and stated, “This is love.”
When he saw an unmarked police car, Summers wrote a suicide note telling his children they would “be watching from the sky” and slit its throat with a razor; Despite bleeding a lot, the cut was superficial.
Mathewson snuck into his ex-wife’s house after convincing his daughter to leave a window open. Pictured: Mathewson reacts to the guilty verdict
At the time of the attack, the couple lived in different houses, as they were separated and in the process of divorcing.
Police cars surrounded the dark blue van the couple was in and Mathewson was rescued, while Summers was arrested.
Alisa shared photos of the horrific wrist injuries her husband inflicted on her.
Summers pleaded not guilty to 11 charges (kidnapping, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of sexual assault, four counts of child neglect, auto theft and violation of a restraining order) and represented himself in Court of Hillsborough County Circuit, Florida, after being fired. your legal team.
During his questioning, Trevor asked: ‘So you call it rape?’
“Being in court with him was horrible and three of our children had to testify,” said Mathewson, an insurance agent from Tampa, Florida.
‘It’s the last place you want your children to be and they were traumatized by hearing everything their father had done.
“He represented himself so he could question me on the stand, I couldn’t breathe when he spoke.”
During the week-long trial in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Summers claimed that “sex doesn’t mean much” to his ex-wife.
“For a long time, I would get turned on by seeing a man who looked like him and nightmare flashbacks meant I would wake up screaming,” Mathewson said.
Trevor Steven Summers and his ex-wife in a photo posted to social media in July 2016. He was found guilty of all 11 charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The ordeal saw Mathewson raped and tied with ropes and scarves before her ex-husband kidnapped her.
The couple share five children whom Mathewson credits with helping her overcome the trauma of the attack.
But after just five hours, a jury found Summers guilty on all 11 counts and handed him a life sentence in October 2022.
“I was relieved when he was found guilty, but the length of his sentence was longer than I expected,” Mathewson said.
“It’s taken time and different forms of therapy, but I feel good: he can never hurt anyone else.”
‘I’ve had the best support system around me. But, above all, my children have helped me move forward; Everything I do, I do for them.
“My unconditional love for them overcame their father’s evil intentions.”
‘I’m very well now. I have the best relationship with my children and a successful insurance business.
‘I help other survivors of domestic violence through advocacy and recently wrote a book.
Summers represented himself in Hillsborough County, Florida, court and fired a series of questions at his ex-wife Alisa Mathewson.
Alisa Mathewson held back her emotions while on the witness stand at her husband’s trial.
“You think what you’re going through is going to last forever, but there is healing on the other side.”
After nearly 16 years of marriage, the couple separated in 2016 and Mathewson filed for divorce in March 2017, which Summers could not accept.
‘What Trevor put me through no longer affects me because I refuse to allow it.
“It’s a battle I will have for the rest of my life, but I will continue to win.”