GLENDALE, AZ -A man in his thirties allegedly stabbed his wife-to-be in the face with scissors weeks before their wedding, claiming he "thought he could hear her thoughts where she was talking sh*t about him."
The alleged suspect, 31-year-old Zachary Velasquez, is now facing an aggravated assault charge among other charges in connection to the October 5 attack on Emily Byles, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law & Crime. Byles was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering an injury to her vertebral artery that required surgery.
Police responded to the home after Byles' 11-year-old daughter called 911, telling dispatchers she was worried about her parents after "hearing screaming from their bedroom." Upon arriving on scene, officers forced their way into the bedroom after hearing Byles yelling from inside. Byles told officers Velasquez was "trying to kill her," police said.
"Upon entering the bedroom, officers observed the victim laying down on her back covered in blood," the affidavit says. "The victim was observed to be holding scissors. Officers observed the defendant with no shirt on, red shorts, and his hands covered in blood."
Byles said after the fact that Velasquez "wasn't trying to just hurt me. He was trying to end my life." She said she was "mortified that someone that says he loves me and would protect me would just literally try to murder me."
She told police that Velasquez was allegedly using methamphetamine and claimed he was a prophet who needed to kill her to save her. Velasquez told police that the incident began as "an argument" after Byles "saw pictures of females on the defendant's phone," the affidavit stated.
"The victim stated the defendant told her to lay her head down on the floor and go to sleep," the affidavit alleges. "The victim stated the defendant told her if she got up again, he was going to kill her. The defendant also stated to the victim that it was God's plan for her to die." Byles allegedly continued to get up and Velasquez went after her with the scissors, police said.
He also hit her on the head about 30 times and stabbed her, Byles said. "I felt like maybe I, like, died because it was like an out-of-body experience of going past earth and past heaven," Byles added.
In a GoFundMe campaign, she described the severity of her injuries, saying, "I was stabbed multiple times, my artery was cut, and I was severely beaten." She also said the alleged attacker upended her life for her and her daughters, leaving them separated while she recovered.
"Since that night, our home has been left unlivable, with too much blood to even clean up," Byles said. "I lost my belongings, and my girls and I have been separated. Right now I am staying with a friend while I recover from stitches in my face, and my daughters are staying safely out of town with my sister while I heal."
Byles said the attack happened about a month before the couple's planned wedding. She alleged that Velasquez had threatened to kill her two daughters, but her oldest daughter called 911 before an attack on the child occurred.
While speaking to police, Velasquez allegedly acknowledged putting Byles in a chokehold and punching her, but claimed he acted in self-defense. He said Byles made him worried that she was "suicidal," so he started hiding knives and scissors from her.
"According to the defendant, the victim located one of the scissors," the affidavit says. "The defendant stated the victim came at him with the knife, but he was able to turn the knife around and stab the victim in the neck. The defendant stated he removed the knife from the defendant's neck and they both fell to the floor where they wrestled over the knife."
He allegedly continued to stab Byles after gaining possession of the knife. He claimed Byles was also using methamphetamine that night. Velasquez has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct, intimidation and recklessly handling a weapon. He has a previous conviction of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery.
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