KENOSHA - The apartment was calm and peaceful Tuesday - a typical summer afternoon.

A soft breeze blew through the open door as Jennifer Popovich looked at her sleeping daughter, 22-month-old Liliana Torres.

Popovich, 32, smiled at her daughter, but the deep purple bruises visible above the neckline of Popovich's shirt told the story of a very different afternoon.

On Monday afternoon, mother and daughter reunited after Liliana's father, Anthony Torres, beat up Popovich, kidnapped Liliana and fled from authorities before being shot and killed by deputies in Walworth County.

A day later, Popovich is trying to come to terms with what happened and is shedding tears for both Torres and her daughter. She said Torres' death is terrible, but she feels glad her daughter is alive.

"Once in a while I get lost in thought, but I'm really still in denial," Popovich said. "I'm not falling apart because Lili seems to be OK."

She said her daughter has some abrasions on her back and head. Popovich's sister, Meredith Nutt, said Liliana seems fine but is a bit whinier than usual.

"As soon as mom is out of sight, it's, 'Mommy, mommy, mommy.' It takes me 20 minutes to calm her down," said Nutt, 25, of Racine.

Popovich said she and Torres met through a mutual friend and had a three-year relationship. The couple broke up one month ago after Torres became abusive toward Popovich, placing his hands around her throat.

"I kicked him out," she said. "But he wouldn't stop coming around. I didn't mind (at first) because he would take Lili to the park."

Popovich said she eventually got fed up with Torres' visits because he kept expressing a desire to continue their relationship. The two argued at about 10 a.m. Monday in front of Liliana and four other children under Popovich's supervision through her day care service.

"I can remember him punching me the first time in the chest," Popovich said. "I remember falling, and then I must have blacked out."

Torres called 911 at about 11 a.m., telling dispatchers he beat up Popovich and needed an ambulance. When police arrived, Torres and Liliana were gone. Popovich was taken to Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha.

After Popovich was released from the hospital Monday, she and family members gathered at her mother's home in Kenosha. While there, Nutt said she received a call from Torres.

"My cell rang," she said. "It was a guy, very shaky. I couldn't make out the voice. He said he needed to talk to Jennifer. It was Tony. He said, 'You need to hurry up and get her. I have five squad cars behind me.' I could hear Lili in the background calling for mom."

Nutt said she gave the phone to Popovich, who begged Torres to let her daughter out of the car.

"He was saying he loved her and my sister said it back just to get him to stop," Nutt said. "He put the phone up to Lili's ear and Jennifer said, 'Mommy's gonna come get you.' She heard a noise, Lili screamed and the phone cut off."

Authorities called Popovich's mother immediately and said they had Liliana. The child was taken to a hospital in Elkhorn, where Popovich went to pick her up. Torres had been shot as Walworth County Sheriff's deputies tried to protect the child. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I know people are going to portray him as this monster and he really wasn't," Popovich said. "He just had this one personality flaw. Everybody has one. He's a great man 90 percent of the time."

Torres was incarcerated in 1998 for abuse and threats toward another woman and that couples' two children. Popovich said she knew about Torres' previous abusive incidents. She never worried about him abusing her "because he had circumstances (with his wife) … that he doesn't have with me."

She said she also never worried about Torres abusing Liliana.

"From day one, they were inseparable - two peas in a pod," Popovich said. "I don't know what I'm going do when she starts asking about him."