Left inset: Latarius Dale (Houston County Sheriff's Office). Right inset: Brittany Moulton (WTVY). Background: Brittany Moulton showing where she had a metal plate inserted into her head after Latarius Dale attacked her with a claw hammer (WTVY).
An Alabama man is headed to prison for a vicious claw hammer attack on his ex-girlfriend after she cut off all contact following their breakup.
"He knew it was over with," victim Brittany Moulton told local ABC affiliate WDHN about her ex, Latarius Dale, who was found guilty last week of first-degree domestic violence by a Houston County jury.
"He had no control," Moulton said about what led to the February 2025 attack. "He knew that day I had blocked him he couldn't get in contact with me, didn't know where I was or what I was doing, he was assuming I was out doing things with people."
A judge sentenced Dale to life in prison on May 21, with the possibility of parole, according to local CBS affiliate WTVY. Moulton was reportedly in the courtroom and visibly emotional as the judge handed down the sentence following Dale's conviction.
"I do feel that justice was served, and I hope that I can be a voice for other victims to not give up and to stay strong," Moulton told WTVY.
Prosecutors had accused Dale of breaking into Moulton's house in Lovetown and attacking her with a claw hammer. He hit Moulton in the face, head and chest over two dozen times until she was unconscious.
"I heard two footsteps. I can't get the two footsteps out of my head," Moulton told WTVY in April. "All I could see is a black figure. He was dressed in all black and at that time that was my worst fear, someone breaking in on me."
As a result of the attack, Moulton has a metal plate inside her head, and one of her retinas was torn, leaving her blind in her right eye. She attempted to go to a neighbor's house afterward to ask for help and was found in the front yard the next morning.
"God said, 'Girl, you need to get outside,'" Moulton recounted to WTVY. "I heard Him clear as day. Like, from the right side, I heard it and I just remember thinking, looking up, 'I hear you.' So I walked outside. I walked to my neighbor's yard. Knocked on her door, and she didn't answer. So, I just remember saying, 'I'm tired,' and I fell out in the yard."
Describing her injuries, Moulton told the local outlet, "I have a metal plate inside of my head. I was sewn up from ear to ear. So my whole head, the top of my head is just full of scars and my retinas were torn in my right eye. I can't see anything out of my right eye."
Dale, who has children with Moulton, had been arrested and charged in 2023 with third-degree domestic violence in connection with another alleged incident. But Moulton reportedly asked the judge to drop the charge.
"I was like, 'We're raising kids together. Let me go drop these charges.' And that's what I told the judge," Moulton recalled. "When he [the judge] asked me, 'Is he making you do this? Is anyone making you do this?' I said, 'No, we're raising kids together and we'll get it together one day.'"
Moulton finally ended the relationship for good in November 2024, three months before she was attacked. "I got out and I said, 'I'm not coming back,'" she remembered.
"There's always options for help," Moulton told WTVY last week. "If anyone ever needs any help, any advice, or to contact the resources, never hesitate. I stand with all the victims."
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