A Florida man has been arrested for stabbing his brother’s girlfriend in a brutal and prolonged attack that was only stopped when his brother fought back by shooting him, according to Sunshine State police.
Dakota Michael Hayes, 21, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a knife, according to Manatee County court records.
A criminal complaint states that the incident occurred earlier this month at the Hayes residence on 60th Drive East in Bradenton.
Police say the violence was the result of a slow-motion series of events that began one day and continued the next, culminating in the surprise knife attack and reprisal shooting.
According to the complaint, on August 11, the defendant threatened to kill his brother’s girlfriend “multiple times,” citing the victim’s account. Dakota Hayes allegedly became “highly upset” by the woman “washing a dish in the sink” prior to the threats.
“The defendant threaten[ed] to kill her in front of everyone in the residence to include his mother,” according to the summons. “[The brother’s girlfriend] was certain that the defendant’s mother heard the threats, which is why they removed the defendant from the house and took him to his grandmother’s house. The victim claimed that the defendant has been obsessed with her for several years and is a complete psycho.
Nonetheless, the first day passed without incident.
The brother’s girlfriend was “laying in her bed using her phone” on the morning of Aug. 12 when the defendant “busted through her door and immediately punched her with his left fist on the right side of her face,” according to the complaint. Then Dakota Hayes allegedly pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed the woman.
According to the complaint, the woman’s boyfriend, the defendant’s brother, rushed in and took the attacker away. However, the knife-wielding man allegedly refused to stop and “attempted to go back after” the woman. The defendant’s brother “retrieved a firearm and shot.”
Both the victim and her alleged assailant were transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital as trauma patients. 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 received two gunshot wounds: one to his left arm and one to his right hip and buttocks.
The stabbing victim’s  GoFundMe page aims to help her relocate “because she mentally cannot go back to live in the house she was attacked in.”
Two other witnesses testified to a unique history with the defendant, albeit one that had never before reached this level.
“[The witnesses] stated that for the past few weeks Dakota Michael Hayes has been having episodes,” according to the accusation. “They both stated that they came over last night to take Dakota Michael Hayes to avoid problems. Both claim that Dakota Michael Hayes has ‘Episodes’ but has never been violent.
Dakota Hayes is currently detained without bond at the Manatee County Jail, according to court and jail records.
A competency hearing is currently scheduled for September 25, according to court records. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned on October 3.
