When Tim Dunn needed an emotional lift, he visited his good friend Cindy Hammond.

Hammond no longer could be his dance partner, at least in the traditional way, after a savage beating by her boyfriend two years ago left her paralyzed from the shoulders down.

But she still had her voice, which Dunn and other friends relied upon to lift their spirits.

That voice grew silent a few weeks ago, when Hammond developed a severe infection and pneumonia related to her paralysis. She died Monday after doctors disconnected life support.

"Despite everything she went through, Cindy never lost the ability to embrace life," said Dunn, her friend of nearly a decade. "She never changed her outlook. This is a great, big void that we will have a hard time filling."

The Sacramento District Attorney's Office will consider filing murder charges against Hammond's former boyfriend, Joe McCoy, 51, who is in prison for 25 years to life for the beating that left her quadriplegic. A murder conviction could mean a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole, said prosecutor Ruanne Dozier.

"No decision has been made as to whether homicide charges will be filed," Dozier said Tuesday. "But from a legal standpoint, we could do that, and I can tell you that our office's general approach is that no murder goes unpunished."

The prosecution would have to show that the injury inflicted by McCoy caused Hammond's death.

Hammond, 50, a Sacramento native who graduated from McClatchy High School, was a widow when she met McCoy at a neighborhood bar in 2006. They moved in together the following year.

A mother of two grown sons and a longtime employee and supervisor for Rite Aid pharmacies, she was paralyzed from the shoulders down in the autumn of 2009 after McCoy attacked her in their Sacramento apartment.

In videotaped court testimony and later in an interview with The Bee, Hammond described how McCoy accused her of being with another man, and then beat her. He forced her to the living room floor on her hands and knees, she said, then bent her legs back toward her head, snapping her spine.

Petite and outspoken, Hammond testified in court that McCoy had abused her at least four times before the final attack and that she had thought about leaving. She stayed, she said, because she feared McCoy would come after her or one of her friends or colleagues. "I wish to God I had gone to someone and asked for help," she told The Bee.

After her story became public, Hammond got scores of letters from people offering their support, including women who shared their own stories of abuse, said Hope Villaluna, administrator of the care home where Hammond lived after her injury.

More than 100 people offered to buy her a Kindle reader after she said she wanted one for Christmas, and friends she had not seen in years contacted her with good wishes.

"She couldn't believe the response she got to her story," said Villaluna. "It was so uplifting to her, especially the notes she got from other women who had experienced abuse."

Various groups invited Hammond to speak about domestic violence, and she embraced the opportunity. But her fragile health prevented her from taking part in most of the events, Villaluna said. "She's been in and out of the hospital for quite a while," she said.

Dunn saw Hammond regularly at her care home, and when she felt good the pair would go out to malls or the neighborhood VFW hall.

They talked about their fears and frustrations and all of the things that friends discuss, and "when I was down she always made me feel better," he said.

Dunn said his anger would boil over when he watched Hammond, who once enjoyed swing dancing and camping, struggle to get out of bed or lift a fork. But she never complained, he said.

"The truth is she was never angry or bitter," said Dunn. "Her attitude, her outlook on life, her spirit never changed."

Hammond was among the youngest and most cheerful residents of her care home in the Florin area. "We loved her," said Villaluna. "Cindy was so happy to be alive, such a strong person," she said.

But Hammond's health was delicate, with infections a constant threat, Villaluna said. "Any time she got a simple cough it could become a huge issue."

About three weeks ago, Hammond got an infection that settled in her lungs. This time, said Villaluna, she was unable to fight it off and ended up in intensive care, struggling to breathe.

At the request of Hammond's extended family, life support was disconnected Friday and she died Monday morning, friends said. Hammond's survivors include her sons, Joshua and Daniel, and a sister, Sandy, said Dunn.

"The only thing that makes sense to me is the life lessons we learned from her," friend Megan Harvey Green posted on a Facebook page in support of Hammond. "Through her struggle, she reunited old friends and reminded us how fragile life is.

"We need to thank Cindy for teaching us how to live with dignity, and never take for granted that we'll see the light of day tomorrow."

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