Abusive Friend- what do I do?

My best friend from high school has been acused of hurting his girlfriend before, but she's a crazy bitch so I believed him when he said he hadn't hurt her, and that she had blown everything out of proportion. A couple of days ago, I got word that he'd been kicked out of college, and was going to court on abuse charges from her. Apparently there's medical evidence- photos, x-rays, all proving that he's been hurting her. And I just don't know what to say to him. I don't want to abandon him- he's been my good friend for years now, and he's such a kind, smart, weird guy. I never would have expected him to be abusive. And I'm afraid if I abandon him, he'll try to kill himself again, since last year he had a very serious suicide attempt that scared the crap out of me. But he needs to know that hurting his girlfriend was completely not okay, and that it can't happen again. I just feel like slapping him in the face and yelling, because I'm so confused and conflicted. I mean, how could a good person be such a monster? But I still can't see him as a bad person.

I just don't know what to do, or how to approach him. What do I do to make him change? How do I reconcile who he is with what he's done, and still be close to him? Tweet