text: An ex-wife of a North Carolina man serving life in prison for the murder of his third wife has opened up about the abuse she faced when she was married to the man. Amanda Casey, also of North Carolina, was married to Michael Wilkie for four years and had a daughter with him before the couple divorced. He went on to marry his third wife, Shelby Wilkie. Michael Wilkie was found guilty of first-degree murder in January for the 2012 killing of Shelby Wilkie and is serving a life sentence without parole. Amanda Casey has opened up about the abuse she faced at the hands of Michael Wilkie, who in January was found guilty of the 2012 murder of his third wife . 'He said if I ever tried to take his daughter away from him that he would kill me,' Casey told ABC's 20/20. Casey and Shelby Wilkie had met Michael Wilkie through an online dating site. Casey said they dated for a year-and-a-half before getting married. 'He was very friendly, very charming, easy to talk to, very soft spoken, and he had a good job and seemed to be pretty good,' Casey said. A couple months after marrying in 2004, Michael Wilkie began controlling aspects of Casey's life and alienating himself from Casey's daughter from a previous marriage, Casey said. 'If I planned to do something with one of my friends, he would manipulate the situation, and there would be something that came up that would interfere or get in the way,' she said. And then he began to get physically abusive and attacked her when she was pregnant with their daughter. He grabbed me around my throat and threw me around our bedroom and on the bed. My shoulder went through and made that hole in the sheetrock in the bedroom,' she said. Michael Wilkie (left) was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for killing his third wife, Shelby Wilkie (right). Shelby and Michael Wilkie, both of North Carolina, had met on an online dating site . But Casey never reported the incident and her friends and family were not aware of Michael Wilkie's abusive side because 'he was so good at masking'. 'It was like Jekyll and Hyde: two personalities and you didn't know which one you would get,' Casey said. 'You didn't know which one. You would meet when you got home.' She said she 'had thoughts' that Michael Wilkie would kill her, 'mainly because he told me he would kill me'. But Casey didn't leave Wilkie for quite some time. 'I am the type of person that I will stay in a situation, whether it's a job or a marriage … longer than I should because I don't give up hope easily,' she told 20/20. 'And I am always thinking about, 'What could I do to make it better?' After an argument about pictures taken of their daughters together in 2006, Casey left Michael Wilkie. She took her older daughter but left the couple's three-year-old behind. The couple later divorced in 2008. Casey eventually remarried and gained joint-custody of her and Michael Wilkie's child, and met her former husband's new wife, Shelby Wilkie, at a school event for their daughter. Shelby Wilkie was murdered in 2012 and her remains were found after a long search. Her and Michael Wilkie's child, Sydney (left), is in the process of being adopted by Shelby's brother, Bill Sprowls, Jr, against Michael’s wishes . She did not, however, warn Shelby Wilkie about the abuse she faced when she was married to Michael Wilkie. 'I had hoped that things had changed, and that it was me and not, you know, him. And that way, hey, he could be happy. She could be happy, and it could be a nice household environment,' Casey said about the couple. Just before Shelby Wilkie went missing the pair did have a short conversation. 'She said, 'I just want to ask you some things about Michael, is that OK?' And I said, 'Sure,' Casey recalled. 'And I said, 'Shelby, if there is anybody that knows what you are going through, it's me.' Casey told Shelby Wilkie she had to go shortly after and asked her to call her back. She never got a call back, and instead saw Michael Wilkie pleading for Shelby Wilkie to come home. Casey (right) married Michael Wilkie in 2004. She said a few months after the wedding be become controlling and eventually physically abusive. At times, she said she feared he would kill her . At first, Casey thought that Shelby Wilkie had run from her husband, but Michael Wilkie was then arrested, charged and found guilty of his wife's murder. Shelby Wilkie had filed two domestic violence charges against her husband before her death, but both were voluntarily dismissed, according to WSOC. Blood and her ashes, along with a charred bracelet her mother had given her, were later found and Michael Wilkie was arrested, according to ABC. And it wasn't until his arrest that Casey finally felt safe, she said. 'It's made me grow as a person,' she said. 'And it has made me stronger as a human being.'
target: Michael Wilkie was found guilty in January of first-degree murder in January for the 2012 killing of his third wife, Shelby Wilkie .
  His second wife, Amanda Casey, has opened up about the abuse she faced before divorcing .
  Casey said that he controlled aspects of her life and was physically abusive, particularly when she was pregnant .
  She even said she feared that Michael Wilkie would kill her .
  She said she never warned Shelby Wilkie, but told her she was there if she needed someone to talk to shortly before she disappeared .