Family seeks GoFundMe support as Bradenton woman recovers from stabbing attack
The family of a Bradenton woman seriously injured in a stabbing earlier this month is turning to the community for help as she faces a difficult recovery.
A fundraiser launched by her sister says the woman, who is going by “Bunny” to protect her identity, has undergone multiple surgeries and remains hospitalized with lasting injuries after deputies say her boyfriend’s brother stabbed her inside their Bradenton home.
The GoFundMe fundraiser seeks community support to assist in her medical needs and help her relocate after she is discharged.
Deputies said the violence unfolded on Aug. 12 at the family’s home in the Silver Lake neighborhood near Jiggs Landing, where they were all living together and she was attacked in her bedroom.
According to the GoFundMe, paramedics later rushed her to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for emergency surgery, including procedures to repair her intestines and reconnect nerve muscle in her face. The page says the stabbing also left her with spinal cord damage that limits movement on the right side of her body.
“She is the strongest person I know and is fighting every day to regain motion and recover,” her sister, Aubrey Brooks, wrote on the page.
Fundraiser for Bradenton stabbing victim
The GoFundMe has raised about $2,400 toward a $7,000 goal as of Friday. Brooks said the money will go toward helping Bunny relocate once she is discharged from the hospital, since she cannot return to the home where the attack happened.
Deputies said the woman was lying in bed using her phone when 21-year-old Dakota Michael Hayes burst into her room, punched her and stabbed her at least 11 times in the head, neck and abdomen. The attack ended when his older brother, 24-year-old Willie Hayes, ran in after hearing his girlfriend scream, according to an arrest report.
Investigators said he wrestled with Dakota before pulling a gun from a nearby bag and firing three times, striking him in the hip, buttocks and forearm.
Doctors treated Dakota Hayes for gunshot wounds before deputies arrested him and charged him with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a knife, according to an arrest report.
Hayes has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney filed a motion arguing he is not competent to stand trial, citing alleged delusions and disorganized thought processes, according to court records. A hearing scheduled for Friday was canceled after that filing. He is now set for a competency hearing on Sept. 25 before Circuit Judge Frederick Mercurio, with an arraignment scheduled for Oct. 3.
In the meantime, Bunny’s sister is urging friends and neighbors to rally around her as she faces a long road to recovery.
“She was in the process of saving money to move out of the home where this happened,” Brooks wrote. “This incident has put a damper on that progress. I kindly ask that you donate to her here if you have the means to.”
