SARASOTA COUNTY, FL - According to an online news report posted on heraldtribune.com, a 27-year-old woman from Biddeford, Maine, has been arrested and charged with "First-Degree Attempted Murder" when she attacked a couple with a machete. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office reports that a couple was sleeping in their home. The arrest report states that the incident occurred at around 12:30 in the morning.
Sheriff's deputies answered an emergency call regarding a residential burglary with injuries on Burke Road in Venice, Florida. According to the Sheriff's Office arrest report, a couple was asleep in their home when the suspect broke into their house and then attacked the couple with a machete. The husband was able to identify the attacker who hit him with a machete. The report states that the husband had life-threatening gashes to his chest, arm, leg, and head. The victim was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
Sheriff's Office deputies confronted and tried to stop a white Chevrolet Silverado as the deputies arrived at the location of the attack. The deputies witnessed the truck drive through a stop at Burke Road and Quincy Road.
The arrest report states that the suspect, a 27-year-old woman from Biddeford, Maine, led the Sherriff's deputies on a high-speed pursuit from Venice to the Charlotte County border before the suspect was stopped. The suspect ignored the Sherriff's deputy's sirens and emergency lights as she headed eastbound along Seminole Road from Quincy Road. The arrest report states that the suspect accelerated to around 60 mph after the Sherriff's deputies turned on their blue lights and sirens. Another Sheriff's deputy joined the pursuit on Tamiami Trail. The pursuit reached speeds between 75 and 100 mph throughout the pursuit. Stop sticks were then deployed, and the suspect's tires were punctured, causing the suspect to reduce her speed. The Sheriff's deputies then attempted a PIT maneuver to spin the suspect's car and cause the vehicle to stop. One PIT maneuver ended the chase. The suspect was then apprehended as the suspect "surrendered peacefully."
According to the news report, the pursuit lasted around 17 minutes and covered about 19 miles. The suspect ran stop signs and red lights. She also "drove into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed."
Inside the victims' house, law enforcement officers discovered an ax. The ax was in the location where the suspect broke into the home.
According to statements provided by the husband, the suspect worked with his wife, and the suspect was attempting to persuade his wife to leave him so she could date the suspect. The wife identified the suspect. The couple denied owning the weapons found by law enforcement. The weapons, an ax, a bow and arrow, and a machete allegedly are owned by the suspect.
The news report states that the suspect admitted to the Punta Gorda Police Department that she attempted to murder the man because she wanted to date the man's wife. The suspect stated that she originally wanted to shoot the man using the bow and arrow. However, the suspect was afraid he would injure the man's wife. The suspect stated that he had a job interview back in Maine, and he wanted to convince the man's wife to go with him.
The suspect is being held, without bond, at the Sarasota County Jail. She has been charged with armed burglary, first-degree attempted murder, and other criminal offenses.