By LYDIA WARREN
PUBLISHED: 16:13 EST, 26 September 2012 | UPDATED: 17:30 EST, 26 September 2012
The brother of a woman who was brutally beaten, raped and doused in petrol before her apartment was set on fire has revealed how she forgave her attacker during her astonishing recovery.
After Lydia Tillman, now 32, was attacked by Travis Forbes in Fort Collins, Colorado in July 2011, she suffered a stroke that left her in a coma for five weeks. Her jaw, wrist and ribs were also shattered.
Her brother Jacob, who is hoping to raise $65,000 for reconstructive jaw surgery for his sister, has spoken of her inspiring positivity in the face of these appalling injuries.
'Lydia first spoke about Travis Forbes before she was even able to speak,' he told MailOnline. 'She prepared a letter of forgiveness that our father read out in court and she hasn't looked back.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2209091/Lydia-Tillman-Brother-woman-32-beaten-raped-left-dead-reveals-forgave-attacker-astonishing-recovery.html
**note - Forbes, who was caught after his DNA was found under Lydia's fingernails, was sentenced to 48 years in prison after he admitted to the attack and the murder of another woman, Kenia Monge.