On the 48 Hours Live to Tell episode “Sophia’s Secret,” Sophia Putney-Wilcox of Kalamazoo, Michigan tells her survival story. When she was 17, in 2014, her abusive ex-boyfriend Adam Shigwadja broke into her room and hid there until she entered. He held her at knifepoint and then doused her and himself with gasoline and then set the room on fire. According to Sophia, Adam said he planned to kill her. Luckily, Sophia’s brother found them and swung a baseball bat at Shigwadja and accidentally struck his sister. Sophia survived, after surgery. Shigwadja was sentenced to 29 to 60 years in prison. At his sentencing in 2015, Shigwadja said: “I loved her more than my own life but I was lost and wanted to die.”
It wasn’t the first time Shigwadja broke into her room and put a knife to her throat, threatening to kill her. One year prior, she filed a personal protection order against Shigwadja but it was denied. According to a court form, “The petition lacks sufficient basis to clearly indicate immediate or irreparable injury, loss, or damage.” ‘Sophia’s Secret’ will air on 48 Hours (November 19) which airs Saturdays at 9pm and 10pm on CBS.
