New revelations have surfaced in the case of a Colorado athlete with Olympic aspirations, who is accused of fatally stabbing an Uber driver inside his vehicle. The suspect claims the driver attempted to assault her, despite his partial paralysis, which led her to stab him 60 times, according to prosecutors.

Khayla Dawson, 27, from Colorado Springs, reportedly arranged an Uber ride with 38-year-old driver Jeremy Campbell on October 26. She described her intention as a “joy ride,” as outlined in an arrest affidavit from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, accessed by Law&Crime.

According to KRDO, a local ABC affiliate, Dawson, who participated in the 2024 USA Olympic Trials in Oregon for shot put, alleges that she dozed off in Campbell’s 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. She claims to have awakened to an attempt of sexual assault by Campbell, prompting her to defend herself by stabbing him, as detailed in the affidavit.

During a preliminary hearing on Friday, prosecutors and experts contended that Dawson stabbed Campbell approximately 60 times inside his Hyundai, subsequently abandoning his body in a field and fleeing with the vehicle, reported The Gazette.

The accusation that Campbell attempted to assault Dawson was disputed by a police detective, who testified that Campbell’s partial paralysis on his right side made the alleged attack improbable.

Dawson’s defense attorney highlighted concerns regarding her mental health, referencing a previous incident where she exhibited irrational behavior during an encounter with a real estate agent.

During cross-examination of the detective who testified, Dawson’s lawyer had him describe how she made the agent “uncomfortable” due to her erratic behavior, which allegedly included getting down on all fours in a small closet in a home she was touring and mentioning how two people could fit in it.

Dawson’s attorney argued that she felt like she was in a car with a “strange man in the middle of the night,” according to local CBS affiliate KKTV. Prosecutors accused her of planning the attack and noted how she allegedly brought a kitchen knife with her, along with gloves, into Campbell’s vehicle.

“Khayla told [police] she ordered an Uber last night because she does not have a car of her own and ‘felt cooped up’ and ‘wanted to get out of the house,’” the affidavit says.

“She told [police] she fell asleep in the back seat of the car and awoke to feeling the driver reach back to touch her,” the document continues, describing how Dawson told police “she defended herself by drawing a knife” and that Campbell also had a knife.

“During the ensuing struggle, he accelerated through a barbed wire fence and ended up in a field with horses,” the affidavit adds.

Prosecutors said Friday that Dawson stabbed Campbell dozens of times all over his body, including the back of the head, the back of the right shoulder, the right side of his face, the “underside” of his chin, in his neck, and his hands. Many of the wounds appeared to be “defensive,” according to police.

Once his car came to a stop, Dawson allegedly got out and went around to pull Campbell out of the Hyundai before getting in the driver’s seat and driving his car back to her apartment.

Authorities were able to track down Campbell’s vehicle after his father reported him missing; his out-of-state girlfriend provided the location where his phone was last seen on Snapchat maps as an apartment complex where Dawson lives, according to the affidavit. The Hyundai was found in the parking lot.

“[Deputies] advised there was blood spatter on the front passenger window, on the front passenger seat, on the dashboard, the center console, the driver’s seat, and steering wheel,” the affidavit says. “There was also a large puddle of blood on the floor directly behind the driver’s seat. Outside the driver door was a small puddle of blood possibly mixed with saliva.”

Authorities found Campbell’s phone at the bottom of a stairwell and were able to see who his riders were on Sunday night. Dawson allegedly showed up as his last pickup and was found to be living at the apartment complex where Campbell’s car was found in Colorado Springs.

Deputies went to Dawson’s apartment and questioned her about what happened, with the Olympic hopeful providing her account of the “attempted sexual assault,” the affidavit says. A search warrant was executed for Dawson’s residence and Campbell’s key fob to his Hyundai was found inside a box of dryer sheets, along with his wallet and Colorado driver’s license.

“There was a butcher block of knives on the kitchen counter with all but one of the knives accounted for,” the affidavit alleges. “The largest butcher knife in the set of chrome-handled knives was missing from the block and was not located inside the apartment. In the living room was an approximate 18-inch blade machete-type knife, hidden behind a cabinet.”

Dawson told police where the stabbing unfolded and a “bloody butcher knife with a chrome handle, matching the knives from Khayla’s kitchen butcher block” was located in the field near Campbell’s body, along with two credit cards belonging to Dawson, according to the affidavit.

Dawson did not have any puncture wounds, but was treated for a “broken knee bone,” according to police.

The Colorado Springs shot putter was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and motor vehicle theft. KRDO reports that she is a former athlete with the Colorado Chapter of the USA Track & Field team, with online records showing that she placed 22nd overall at the 2024 Olympic trials with a distance of 16.86 meters.

Dawson is being held without bond and is due back in court on March 6. Her trial has been set for April 13 and is expected to last eight days.