Dakota Hayes (Manatee County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida resident has been incarcerated following a vicious and extended stabbing of his brother’s girlfriend, which was only halted after his brother intervened by shooting him, according to police reports from the Sunshine State.
As per Manatee County court documents, Dakota Michael Hayes, aged 21, is charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault using a knife.
The incident occurred earlier this month at the Hayes residence on 60th Drive East in Bradenton, according to a criminal complaint.
Law enforcement believes the assault stemmed from a series of events that slowly escalated over the course of two days, eventually leading to the unexpected knife assault and subsequent retaliatory shooting.
On August 11, Dakota allegedly threatened the life of his brother’s girlfriend “multiple times,” with the complaint referencing the victim’s account. These threats reportedly followed Dakota Hayes becoming “extremely upset” over her “washing a dish in the sink.”
The complaint details, “The defendant threatened to kill her in front of everyone present in the home, including his mother.” It continues, “[The brother’s girlfriend] is completely convinced that the defendant’s mother overheard these threats, compelling them to escort the defendant from the house to his grandmother’s residence. The victim also asserted that the defendant has been fixated on her for several years, describing him as a complete psycho.”
Still, the first day passed without further incident.
On the morning of August 12, while the brother’s girlfriend was “lying in her bed using her phone,” the defendant allegedly “burst through her door and instantly struck her on the right side of her face with his left fist,” according to the complaint. Following this, Dakota Hayes is accused of pulling out a knife and repeatedly stabbing the woman.
The woman’s boyfriend – the defendant’s brother – rushed in and got the attacker away, the complaint continues. But the knife-wielding man allegedly would not stop and “attempted to go back after” the woman. So, the defendant’s brother “retrieved a firearm and shot.”
Both the victim and her alleged assailant were taken the Sarasota Memorial Hospital as trauma victims. The woman “received at least 11 stab wounds” to the back of [her] head, neck, and abdomen,” police said, and had to have “part of her intestine removed.” The defendant suffered two gunshot wounds – one to his left arm and one to his right hip and buttocks area.
A GoFundMe for the stabbing victim aims to help her relocate “because she mentally cannot go back to live in the house she was attacked in.”
Two other witnesses attested to a particularly kind of history with the defendant – though one that had never before risen to such a level.
“[The witnesses] stated that for the past few weeks Dakota Michael Hayes has been having episodes,” the complaint goes on. “They both advised they came over last night to take Dakota Michael Hayes to avoid issues. According to both they claim Dakota Michael Hayes has ‘Episodes’ but has never been violent.”
Dakota Hayes is currently being detained in the Manatee County Jail without bond, court and jail records show.
A competency hearing is currently slated for Sept. 25, court records show. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 3.
