A woman in Fargo, North Dakota, allegedly crept up on her sleeping boyfriend, hacked him in the head with a hatchet, and then posed during her mugshot with a grin from ear to ear.
Fargo police have charged Lena Deoliveira, 23, with attempted murder and aggravated assault in the early-morning attack that left her boyfriend seriously injured.
The boyfriend, Jonathan Granados, ended up in the emergency room with a gash in his head and also had to have surgery on his fingers, which were injured in the attack, apparently due to defensive wounds.
Some fingers were missing, a Fargo news outlet reported.
The violent assault happened around 5:30 a.m. on September 5, inside an attached garage in North Fargo, where the couple had been staying, according to charging documents from her first court appearance on Friday.
Police were called, but Deoliveira had fled the scene, police said.
Detectives interviewed a man who was staying in the garage with Deoliveira and Granados. He told them the woman was homeless but frequently stayed in the garage. The man said he woke up to screaming.
“He looked and saw Lena swing down with the hatchet; he couldn’t see the point of the strike due to obstructions but heard it sound like splitting wood, initially thinking she hit the headrest or headboard,” the eyewitness claimed, according to court documents.
Granados told officers he had been attacked without warning while he slept.
The suspect was tracked down and arrested two days later. She reportedly refused to talk to police and requested an attorney.
On Friday, a Cass County judge set her bond at $500,000.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more
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