Authorities in Tennessee state a husband stabbed and burned his wife, but Good Samaritans spared her life, according to her relatives.
According to a news statement from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Zachary Mowel, 28, attacked his wife on the evening of July 1.
Authorities found a woman with multiple stab wounds and took her to the hospital. Mowel was then detained by TBI officers on charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated arson, aggravated assault (domestic-related), and domestic assault.
It’s unclear whether Mowel has filed a plea or hired an attorney.
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The victim’s family later recognized her as Tess Trotter. Her sister Tori Trotter posted on a GoFundMe page put up to help with medical bills that the incident took place in front of the couple’s young children, who were “watching and pleading” for the attacker to stop.
Tina Trotter, the victim’s mother, told WSMV that two persons discovered the house fire while investigating an item they had seen on Facebook Marketplace. According to the mother, the two extinguished the fire that had consumed Tessa, sparing her life.
“God bless you, and I’ll contact you once my family learns who you are,” Tina told the outlet. “Our family is so grateful for y’all because I wouldn’t have her today.”
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According to police documents filed in court and cited by PEOPLE, Mowel approached an officer who had arrived at the scene and stated, “I did it. “It was me.”
According to Tessa’s GoFundMe page, the attack incapacitated her from the waist down and left her with third-degree burns. Her ribs were all fractured, and she suffered nine stab wounds, according to the page.
“Tessa is the strongest person I know,” her sister said on the website, “and [she] and her boys did not deserve this torture!”