A 34-year-old mother and her 25-week premature baby in the US are finally home from ICU after the mum was allegedly stabbed repeatedly in the back 5 months ago by a random assailant.
Pregnant Valerie Kasper, 34, was on a trail in her home state of Georgia back in June of this year, when a 30-year-old homeless man stabbed her four times in the back in a random attack. She was with her three-year-old son Benjamin at the time of the incident.
Valerie required multiple surgeries, including an emergency C-section for her baby boy, who was only at 25-weeks development (just under 5 months).
Her son – named Theodore Jude – was born shortly after weighing just 2lbs (less than 1 kilo), had to undergo several surgeries himself, and still requires oxygen, a feeding tube, and a heart monitor.
However, as of earlier this month he has returned home from hospital with his parents.
“My life was almost taken,” said Valerie, speaking to Fox5 Atlanta.
“Both my babies’ lives were almost taken. I was feet away from my car and he ran up behind me.”
She continued: “They had to repair my colon and my liver. But they didn’t have to remove anything and it wasn’t severe. Somehow, you can get stabbed four times and misses everything. It was a miracle.”
Speaking to Good Morning America, she said that the attack was “traumatic.”
“When I went into surgery I was crying, saying, ‘Save my baby and save my uterus,’ because I thought if he didn’t make it, I would want to have another baby,” she said.
Valerie said that despite the stress, her baby is “a cutie pie and we love all the snuggles.”
“We are hoping and praying he thrives at home!’ the parents wrote on their GoFundMe page.
Her alleged attacker was arrested five days after the incident, and was denied bail on assault charges. Prosecutors described him as “clearly a danger to society,” while police said they believed “mental illness” played a role in the attack.
In August, the alleged attacker was reportedly indicted on charges of criminal attempt to commit murder, criminal attempt to commit feticide, aggravated assault and first-degree child cruelty.
NEW: A man accused of stabbing a pregnant DeKalb woman was out of jail on bond at the time of the incident. This is the seventh time he has been booked into the DeKalb jail since 2011, and records show he's been arrested at least 12 times in Georgia. https://t.co/CbqxYEN4ii
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution (@ajc) June 15, 2021
Speaking to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Valerie said “I just don’t want him on the streets. I don’t know exactly what that means, I haven’t looked into it and haven’t watched the news myself because I can’t really handle it, but I’m just hoping that the charges are significant.”