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[Music] It is farm country, horse country, [Music] bucolic, upwardly global wealthy type of community. Affluent.
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It's a quiet place. >> Tiny unassuming house. Just a a simple farmhouse. >> Colts Neck has a lot of these.
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>> Yes. this beautiful little farmhouse with this beautiful farm star, you know, in
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the middle of it. In July of 2013, I was an assistant prosecutor in Mammoth County, New
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Jersey. Donna and Shako was alone. She had just gone to bed for the evening. An intruder came into her house and
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attacked her, stabbing her repeatedly. >> 911. Where's emergency? >> Oh, my name is Don Chuck. I just got
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stabbed. >> Where are you? >> Really bad. >> Kid just came in and stabbed me. >> My heart. I'm pouring gushing blood.
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>> Okay, I'm losing consciousness. Keep your eyes open. >> Donna, Donna, >> I was driving home.
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It was maybe like 3:00 in the morning, 3:30. As I pulled up closer, I saw big SUVs,
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cop cars, lights flashing everywhere. I was like, "Where is my mom?" And they were like, "Well, she has been
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attacked and she's on her way to the hospital." They couldn't tell me whether she was
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alive or she wasn't. I was new into major crimes. I didn't have the experience that some of the
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older detectives. So, I had never seen that much blood in before. >> Why would somebody do this? Who did
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this? What did she ever do to anybody? You know, >> on that night in the early morning
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hours, we got a 911 call from a worker from this restaurant. >> About how far from Donna's house are we
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standing right here? >> This is about an 8minute drive. They called because they saw a subject
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walking through their drive-thru. >> Detention, please. >> One of my customers were in drive-thru
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were approached by a man with no shirt but had a knife in his hands >> knocking on windows carrying a knife.
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One of the witnesses who saw the young man, she agreed to come in and give us a sketch.
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>> Everybody was asking about the police sketch. It was in every store. People were frightened.
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Can you tell me about the tip? >> I get a call. The woman on the other end says that she's calling about the
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stabbing in Colts neck. She said, "I think my cousin may have something to do with that.
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[Music] [Music] Tiny Colts neck, New Jersey sits just 50 miles from New York City,
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but it might as well be a world away. So, in July 2013, this quiet community was rocked by news of a violent home
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invasion where the victim was stabbed repeatedly. The only thing more shocking, >> my name is Donna Angakaco.
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>> The victim survived. >> I lost in in total close to 3/4 of the blood in my body.
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[Music] There's no earthly reason why I'm alive. None. >> If I had asked you at the time to give
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me a list of a hundred things you're worried about, where would have home invasion been?
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>> Oh, no. Never. Donna worked for a company that brokered fuel for ships on the nearby Jersey
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shore. She and her daughter Kirstston lived in this farmhouse on the edge of flower
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fields. >> She was 20 when she had me, so we're only 20 years and one day apart.
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>> Friend Sharon Sharp hired Donna decades ago. >> Kirsten had just been born. >> Yeah, Kirsten was a baby. I thought she
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was really brave being a single mom, very young. [Music] >> I was by her side all the time.
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>> Kirsten, who now works as a welder, recalls what life was like just prior to her mother's attack.
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>> We were going to the gym multiple times a week. Not only was she like mentally
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strong, but she was physically strong. >> She was so fit. She did tough mutters with uh Kirsten.
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>> I like that competition. I like to show strength, uh physical strength. Things
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couldn't have been any better at that time. >> That's when Saturday of July 4th weekend
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rolled around. Mammoth County Detective Andrea Tazzy says they were having a heat wave.
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>> It was humid, but we had no rain or anything like that. I mean, it was a dry night. So, Donna
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>> had her windows open. Yes. She had her windows open just to cir obviously to circulate air.
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>> Kirsten was out at a party. So, I was home doing laundry. I'd say about 11, 11:30. Um, I decide I'm going to get
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ready for bed. Um, I let the cat out. I went brushed my teeth. But just as she was drifting off to
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sleep, >> I heard what I thought was the cat. I heard something and I remembered, "Oh, I
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forgot to let the cat in." >> Without turning on any lights, Donna headed downstairs to open the front door
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for her cat. >> But instead, when I opened the door, I saw someone standing there.
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In the split second after seeing this person on my porch, I saw the knife. He was trying to cut into the screen of
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the window that was right next to the front door. >> She says she didn't recognize the young
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white male standing right in front of her holding a large knife. >> I tried to slam and shut the door.
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My fingers were protruding out. He stuck the knife through the opening and cut my
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finger. Um, so that I immediately let go of the door and then he pushed his way in.
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I'm backing into my kitchen. We're face to face. It didn't register to me that he was
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actually going to stab me. >> But without a word, that's exactly what the stranger did.
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>> He slashed my cheek. And you can see that here. And actually, it starts back here. There was no way to process that
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that happened. >> Donna's attacker came at her with the knife again. >> He then slashed three times on this side
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of my neck. >> She tried grabbing the knife, but only cut her own hand in the process. Did you
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feel like you were dealing with somebody who was really strong? No, but I felt like he was very sure,
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like he was very in control of himself. >> Donna was starting to weaken from the
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injuries. >> I felt like my legs were going to give out, so I braced myself against the
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corner of um my bathroom right next to the front door. >> Sure enough, she slid down to the floor.
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I was in fetal position and I'm bleeding and he came over and it was kind of like
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he was playing, you know, with the knife and just started jabbing at me. So that's when he caught me here. Um, and
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he got me in the back of my neck here. >> Finally, Donna's attacker spoke to her.
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>> This was when he decided to ask me for my car keys and if I had a lighter. >> A lighter?
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>> Mhm. I just answered him. Um, there's a lighter in my purse and my purse was on
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the table back in the kitchen. So, he went over and was rumaging through my purse and got the keys, got the lighter.
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>> Donna's asalent ended up taking her entire purse with him, but not before returning one last time to Donna, still
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bleeding on the floor. >> He said, "You dead bitch." and plunged the knife into my chest.
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Once he plunges the knife in and then removes it, what does he do then? >> He just walked out the door.
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>> With no neighbors and earshot, Donna knew she must get help somehow. >> Your phone isn't in reach.
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>> No, my phone was upstairs in my bedroom charging. >> Donna had no landline in the house. But
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even as the blood was draining rapidly from her body, she had one pressing concern. above her own survival.
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>> Kirstston could come home and find me. I just didn't want her to have to experience any level of the horror that
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I had just gone through or any other levels in finding me there dead. >> So, this is a mother's instinct as pure
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as it gets. >> Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. >> You know, you have to get upstairs if you're going to be able to make a call
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for help, >> right? How do you get up those stairs? >> That I don't know. There was divine intervention that
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helped me up those stairs. No doubt. No doubt in my mind. A mother disappears. Evidence points to
00:11:51
homicide. The suspect is gone, too. Leading US marshals on a relentless manhunt. The chase is on.
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>> Justice is coming. 48 hours tonight on CBS. Streaming on Paramount Plus. >> Being an FBI agent is not just a job.
00:12:04
>> The city's under attack. >> It's a life. We're hunting a serial killer. >> The life we chose. People are in danger.
00:12:11
>> That only works if we're doing it together. >> Teamwork. >> Cover me. Let's rock and roll.
00:12:17
>> Yeah, my whole team. Every member clutch the whole team uses Tuesday on CBS and streaming on
00:12:30
Paramount Plus. >> We know how his story ended. Now see how it all began. NCIS Origins coming CBS
00:12:41
fall. [Music] She's a tiny little woman. You have to imagine that many stab wounds and she just willed it. She was
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not going to die there. >> Former Mammoth County Assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart says Donna
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Anshakaco was determined her daughter Kirstston would not come home to find her dead. She knew she had to get to her
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cell phone upstairs. And I don't remember my feet or my hands actually touching the stairs.
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The energy that it took for me to get up off the ground and up those stairs. I was definitely guided.
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The amount of strength that goes into that is just unimaginable. >> But the motivation was you.
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>> Yeah. >> Yep. Maybe I was there guiding her in spirit. Once Donna made it upstairs, she faced a
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new challenge after peering out her bedroom window. >> She had a car sitting right here.
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>> Right. She had a car sitting right in this area. >> I could still see the car was there and
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I could see he the car was on and he was in it. If I take my phone off the charger, it's going to light up. He's
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going to see the light. >> Afraid her attacker would come back for her, Donna did her best to hide the
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light of the phone. Then just getting it to work became the next hurdle. >> My hands are covered in blood. My
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touchcreen. I was trying to swipe and swipe. So I ended up having to wipe my hands off, wipe the phone off, wipe it
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down on the bed, and then I was able to do the touchcreen and get through to 911.
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>> Oh, my name is Don Shak. I just got stabbed really bad. Kid just came in and stabbed me. He stole my car.
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>> Okay. Okay. Okay. Just stand up on me. Okay. Where did you get stabbed? >> In the neck. Blood is cushing out and in
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the chest. >> Detective Andrea Tazzy says Donna's ability to place that call despite her
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injuries was amazing. But then Donna did something even more extraordinary. She gave a detailed description of her
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attacker. >> Okay. Do you know what he looked like? >> Yeah. He was probably about 17. White,
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real skinny, curly hair, blonde, dirty blonde hair, backpack. It was pretty chilling to listen to Donna
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and be able to hear her accurately talk about this is what happened. This is what he looks like.
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>> I'm losing consciousness. >> And then hear her fade out. >> Donna. Donna. >> Hello, Donna.
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>> Donna. >> Yes, ma'am. >> I think I just fell for a minute. Police and paramedics arrived less than
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8 minutes after Donna dialed 911, but her attacker had already fled. Donna was rushed to Jersey Shore University
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Medical Center and into trauma surgery. It would be a few more hours before Kirstston arrived home from her party to
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a house surrounded by flashing lights. >> I saw the caution tape and that her car
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was gone. >> Police told Kirsten what happened to her mother. You were deeply shaken.
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>> Oh yeah. I remember at one point my knees buckled. They had the SUV, the undercover cop car. The trunk was open.
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So I was like, can I sit here because I feel like I'm going to pass out. >> As Kirstston was processing the news, an
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allout manhunt had already begun for Donna's asalent. Detective Tazzy says another 911 call had come in shortly
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before Donna's attack. I was going to pick up my daughter and there was a kid hitchhiking
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>> from a driver who saw someone walking along the road near Donna's house. >> They saw a young man with a backpack and
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khaki pants. He was walking close to the fog line and kind of stepping into traffic and she felt that he was kind of
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a hitchhiker. >> He was on the northbound side walking southbound and I'm afraid he's going to
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get hit by a car. >> How old about? I'm going to say like 18, 19, 20, some something like that.
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>> She was concerned because she just thought that maybe he needed help in some way.
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>> And was a car dispatched? >> Yes. Yes. They didn't find him, though. >> Still, the good Samaritan driver had
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inadvertently given the investigation its first leave. >> I felt that the the hitchhiker was my
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person. It was too coincidental for that time of the night in that area for somebody to be walking. And then 15
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minutes later, Donna is calling say that she was stabbed. >> And there was about to be another tip
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not long after Donna's 911 call from a fast food restaurant 5 miles from her house.
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>> They saw a subject walking through their drive-thru knocking on windows carrying
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a knife and it looked like it had blood on it. Employees from the Taco Bell quickly called police.
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>> You have any description of him? >> Yeah, he was wearing um you know like those army pants and he had no shirt.
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He's white with like really like bushy hair but it was like long like the skater type hair.
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>> How old was he? >> I don't know. He looked like he was like 18. >> Police rushed to the Taco Bell and
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started canvasing the nearby shopping center. They didn't find their suspect, but they did find something else.
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So, there had been a bolo put out on on Donna's vehicle. >> Be on the lookout, >> right? And in the process of looking for
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this person here, they found the car. >> Donna's stolen car, this BMW, had been ditched behind a movie theater.
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>> It was lights on and and it was running, so it clearly was an abandoned vehicle.
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>> Tazzy says the car would become crucial. There was blood all over it. And so we
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were hoping that we would get some kind of DNA evidence of our suspect. >> Did you?
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>> We did. Sharon Sharp will never forget the dread she felt when she arrived at the
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hospital to see her friend Donna Anakaco only to be told she wasn't there. >> I'm picturing the color draining from
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your face and the air leaving your lungs like >> totally no. This cannot be. There's no
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way she has to be here. >> Did you think maybe she had died? >> Yes. Yes. It turned out with her
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attacker still on the loose, the hospital had admitted Donna under an alias to protect her, Sharon was allowed
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to see Donna the next day. An intensive care room I've never seen before. It looked like an enlarged, massively
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enlarged cockpit wall because there were tons of machines behind her and she looked almost like a puppet. Surgery was
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7 hours, I believe. >> Despite losing 3/4 of the blood in her body, trauma surgeons had saved Donna's
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life, but at a tremendous cost. You may find the pictures you're about to see disturbing.
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>> I pretty much looked like a living cadaver. I had 37 stitches on my face and neck,
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38 staples in my chest, seven stitches in my hand, and now internally my sternum is wired shut.
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>> And as for that final stab to Donna's chest just before her asalent left, >> it missed my heart by the edge of a dime
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is what I remember them telling me. the edge of a dime >> when she talks about the margin that the knife missed her
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heart by. >> Yeah. If she was any slouched over anymore, that would have been it.
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>> Kirsten says as soon as her mother was able to talk, she had one simple request.
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>> I remember her saying, "All I smell is this blood in my hair. Can somebody please wash my hair?
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>> Sharon says they got permission and then she and two of Donna's family members
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did their best to wash Donna's hair as she lay in her hospital bed. >> We were determined to see if we can make
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her smile. So, we turned it into a ridiculous idiot session with three of us like a factory line. We laughed
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through our tears and anytime anybody would get too serious, we would make it funny.
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>> But her hair was far from Donna's biggest concern. She was sure her attacker would find her and finish the
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job. >> She was convinced that he was in the hospital. And we kept telling her, "No,
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you're here under an alias." I survived. I stood face to face with him. I could 100% positively identify him. He's
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coming back for me. Detective Tazzy says they were pretty sure the young man knocking on windows at the Taco Bell
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drive-thru shortly after Donna's attack was their suspect. Within two days, a customer who saw him met with a police
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sketch artist >> and was able to provide pretty great details on the person she saw that
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night. >> Investigators then took the sketch to the hospital. >> What did Donna say when she saw that
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sketch? She said, "Yeah, that's was incredibly accurate." She tweaked it a little bit. She said that yes, that
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looks like the person who stabbed me. >> His curly blonde hair, he was like a surfer kid or a skateboarder or
00:22:55
something like that. >> Former assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart says the sketch of the suspect was soon
00:23:01
plastered all over Mammoth County and on law enforcement social media. So, people
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are obviously talking and trying to figure out, do we know him? Where is he from? Who is this kid? And it's scary
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because you like to have a sense of security in your community. >> Investigators reviewed the cameras of
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stores in the shopping center near the Taco Bell to see if they'd get lucky and spot their suspect, hoping the more
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images they had, the more likely the chance of identifying him. We were trying to go back and look at video from
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various businesses to see the description and really to put out the bolo like this is who we're looking for.
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>> Security cameras had captured the suspect once again. >> The surveillance we got from the store
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over there was from inside the store, but it was pointing outwards. >> I see. And it definitely caught him.
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>> Oh, yeah. You could see him walking. >> Wow. As police kept looking for the suspect,
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Donna was turning a corner, at least physically. Amazingly, after just 4 days, Donna Anakaco was released from
00:24:11
the hospital. Sharon says that was all due to the training Donna had done prior to the attack.
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>> Clearly, she's very physically fit. She wouldn't have survived this if she wasn't.
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>> It's an amazing thing. you were out in 4 days, but as you leave the hospital, you are also
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walking back into a world where whoever did this to you is still out there, >> right? But also, I wasn't going back to
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the farm. I wasn't going back to my house. No, there was no way. >> In fact, Donna would never step foot in
00:24:49
her house again. She and Kirsten moved in with family living in New Jersey. Then just 8 days after the attack, not
00:24:58
long after the police sketch began circulating, Detective Tazzy's phone rang. >> I take the call and the woman on the
00:25:06
other end says that she's calling about the stabbing in Colts neck. >> I said, "Okay." I said, "How can I help
00:25:12
you?" And she said, "I I think my cousin Brennan Doyle may have something to do with that."
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It was the first time Tazzy had heard the name Brennan Doyle. He was just 16 years old. His cousin told Tazzy word
00:25:29
was going around her family that Brennan was involved in the Colts neck stabbing.
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The cousin had seen Brennan just days prior to Donna's attack >> between July 3rd and 6th because he was
00:25:42
up in Connecticut for her wedding with his family. >> He had attended her wedding. He attended
00:25:48
her wedding and she was able to provide us a picture of what he looked like during the time he was up there for the
00:25:55
wedding. >> The photo she sends is Brennan with long curly hair wearing camouflage shorts
00:26:01
looking very much like the kid in the sketch and more importantly on the videotapes.
00:26:07
Brennan's resemblance to the sketch all around town was about to become even more important because of what the
00:26:14
cousin told Detective Tazzy happened a few days later. >> She was staying at Brennan's family's
00:26:21
lakehouse in New Hampshire as a wedding gift. And Brennan, his brother, and the mother showed up there unexpected.
00:26:29
>> Hang on. This woman is in Lake Winnipegasi. She's on her honeymoon. >> Yes. And all of a sudden, there's
00:26:37
Brennan, Brennan's mother, Brennan's brother, crashing her honeymoon. >> Yes. And the dog.
00:26:43
>> But what was even more surprising was Brennan's appearance. >> Brennan's hair was cut.
00:26:49
>> The next time she sees him, he's cut his hair. >> Yes. >> So, that's a big red flag.
00:26:56
>> Yes. Brennan Doyle's cousin told investigators that Brennan showed up just days after Donna's attack, hundreds
00:27:16
of miles from home with his hair suddenly cut short, similar to this. Like Donna, the Doyle family resided in
00:27:24
Colt's neck. Former assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart. We lived in a very nice house. Two sons, a mom and a dad. The
00:27:33
life of a typical Colts next teenager. It's a life of wealth. It's a life of privilege.
00:27:38
>> Doyle was a student athlete on wrestling and hockey teams. Detective Tazzy started digging into his background.
00:27:46
>> He had never been arrested. There was never any charges filed against him prior to our investigation.
00:27:53
According to the prosecutor's records, police had been called to the Doyle House for what they refer to as family
00:28:00
conflicts. The location of the home would turn out to be very important. >> Where did Brennan live?
00:28:06
>> So, if you make a right up here and you go up maybe a quarter of a mile on the
00:28:11
left. >> So, that's close. >> Yeah. >> The teen and his family lived within walking distance of Donna's house up the
00:28:19
very road that driver had reported seeing someone. she described as a young hitchhiker just prior to Donna's attack.
00:28:26
>> I'm afraid he's going to get hit by a car. >> When does the Doyle family return to
00:28:33
Colts neck >> later in July? >> With Brennan and his family back in town, Tazzy reached out to the family
00:28:41
saying investigators were canvasing the neighborhood. >> What happened when you went to the
00:28:45
house? >> We spoke with Mrs. Doyle. She was nervous. Her voice was cracking. And
00:28:51
>> did this raise an eyebrow for you? >> It did. We asked if Brennan and his brother could come and look at the
00:28:57
composite sketch and if they had any idea who that person might be on the sketch.
00:29:01
>> Did Brennan come out? >> He did. >> Tazzy says she wanted to see Brennan's hair to confirm what his cousin had told
00:29:09
her, that it had been cut much shorter. It seemed the teen tried to stay a step ahead when he came out to greet the
00:29:17
detective. >> He was wearing a hat. He was wearing a baseball hat. >> I think wearing a baseball cap was a
00:29:24
calculated move. >> It might have been, but it didn't work. >> You could tell his hair was cut short.
00:29:31
>> Next, Tazy showed Brennan the police sketch of the suspect, the same one Donna helped tweak to look just like her
00:29:39
attacker. >> How did he react? >> He looked away. He looked at it, looked away, and said, "I don't know. I don't
00:29:46
know." He was nervous and he was scared. and he got very quiet. >> There is a reaction. Eyes are down. No
00:29:52
eye contact. People are nervous. Mom starts redirecting the conversation. >> Doyle's family and his attorney denied
00:30:00
our request for an interview. We asked CBS News consultant, defense attorney Matt Troyano, to study the case file.
00:30:08
>> And I think that that probably confirms what they believed going in. Brennan's
00:30:13
odd behavior and resemblance to the sketch and video evidence may have been striking, but with nothing else to go on
00:30:20
yet, Tazzy thanked the Doyless for their time and left. >> Did you know that was your guy?
00:30:27
>> I was pretty confident that we were on the right track with him, but we also have a duty. We had other leads that
00:30:33
were coming in, so we were doing a lot of follow-ups. >> As investigators worked the case, Donna
00:30:39
was struggling. Weeks after the attack, the reality of what had happened to her had taken hold.
00:30:46
>> I lost everything that night. I lost my home. Had nowhere to go. I lost my car.
00:30:53
They took it into evidence. >> Donna, you lost more than half your blood. >> I Exactly. I lost I lost a lot.
00:31:01
>> Donna says that's when in addition to her physical recovery, she faced a new challenge. symptoms um of PTSD started
00:31:10
to show up. I'm not eating. I'm not sleeping. I don't care about anything. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm happy. I'm, you
00:31:17
know, every emotion under the sun at any minute. I felt like I was going crazy. I
00:31:22
was always thinking, I don't know who this kid is, but he climbed through the window in that second that I fell asleep
00:31:29
and now he's hiding in the closet. You know, kind of crazy thoughts. Sharon Sharp says Donna's fear meant even
00:31:37
friendly visits required a new protocol, including announcing her arrival every step of the way so as not to trigger
00:31:45
Donna. >> I'm going to come around the hedges now and I'm going to enter the backyard. I'm
00:31:50
going to be touching the gate in 3 2 1. I would shake my keys first, which had bells on them. Say, "It's me, Sharon.
00:31:58
I'm coming." >> The investigation lasted through the summer of 2013. Brennan Doyle remained
00:32:04
the only likely suspect. Detective Tazzy says investigators took the next step in
00:32:11
September. >> We got a warrant to obtain his DNA, his fingerprints, photographs of him, just
00:32:18
things that are personal to him. >> When the results came back, >> there's a fingerprint match. Then
00:32:25
ultimately there's a DNA match. Brennan Doyle's DNA was a spot-on match to unknown DNA found in Donna's car in a
00:32:34
number of places. 11 different DNA samples and pieces of evidence found in that vehicle. And
00:32:42
really, there's no reason why Brennan Doyle's DNA should be in this woman's vehicle. He's a stranger to her.
00:32:50
One more crucial piece of evidence was found in early October in the most unexpected spot.
00:32:57
>> Repair men were servicing an air conditioning unit that was on the top of the strip mall. They found the knife on
00:33:04
the the roof right near the air conditioning unit. >> A knife looking weathered as though it
00:33:09
had been there for months. found on a bowling alley roof in the very same shopping center where the Taco Bell was
00:33:16
located and where Donna's car had been abandoned. >> How important was the knife?
00:33:22
>> It ended up being very important because the knife was from a set. We determined
00:33:27
that that knife matched another knife that we knew came from the Doyle household that had been taken months
00:33:35
earlier. Through a twist of timing and fate, the Colts Neck police already had another knife from the Doyle home taken
00:33:44
after police were called to the house a few weeks prior to Donna's attack following an altercation between Brennan
00:33:50
and his brother. >> There's a knife that's apparently used by the younger brother in in a
00:33:55
threatening manner. Police are called. Police take the knife and the situation ends.
00:34:00
>> There was no charges or anything that came of it, but they secured the knife in their evidence vault. It was the same
00:34:06
brand name, the same look. It was a silver knife. >> It was from the same collection.
00:34:11
>> Correct. That was kind of the icing on the cake to get a search warrant. They
00:34:16
had moved during the course of this investigation. So, we got a search warrant for their new home.
00:34:22
>> The search of the new Doyle residence, also in Colts Neck, turned up the rest
00:34:27
of the knife set matching the one found at top the shopping center. In late October 2013,
00:34:33
Brennan Doyle was arrested. >> What kinds of charges was he facing? >> Serious ones. Attempted murder,
00:34:42
carjacking, weapons possession. These are the most serious of crimes that we have.
00:34:49
[Music] What do you make of the evidence against Brennan Doyle? Take a look at the
00:34:55
complete investigation at 48our.com. Months after Donna's brush with death, her alleged attacker, Brennan Doyle, was
00:35:13
in custody, facing six counts, including attempted murder and carjacking. He pleaded not guilty.
00:35:22
>> You have to look at the seriousness of the offense. The prosecution felt the crime warranted trying Doyle as an
00:35:29
adult, even though he was 16 at the time. >> And in juvenile court, Brennan is looking at four years maximum in a youth
00:35:37
detention facility. In adult court, he's looking at up to 30 years. >> A judge would rule in assistant
00:35:43
prosecutor Ghart's favor, but there was a catch. Doyle would now be entitled to post bail set at $760,000,
00:35:53
which he did. When you heard he was out, did all of the fear come rushing back? >> It wasn't so much fear as it was anger
00:36:02
that he was even allowed to be bailed out. >> The thought of running into Doyle terrified Kirsten. She says he even
00:36:12
haunted her dreams. >> I didn't realize how much it was affecting me. I had no idea until I was
00:36:18
like falling asleep and all I see is his face. >> As prosecutors develop their case, the
00:36:24
details of what happened that horrific night began to emerge. >> What does Brennan Doyle say happened the
00:36:32
night of July 6th heading into the morning of July 7th, 2013? >> Mushrooms. He says he was under the influence of a
00:36:42
hallucinogenic mushrooms. According to investigative reports he examined, Matt Triano says that on the
00:36:50
night of Donna's attack, Doyle claimed he was losing touch with reality and had gotten into a fight with his father.
00:36:57
>> He has a knife in his hand. Dad kicks him out and he kind of loses his mind, makes bad decisions.
00:37:04
>> Police thought it was likely that Doyle, who lived a short distance away, approached Donna's home looking to steal
00:37:11
her car. I don't know if his intent was to kill Donna. Certainly, when he started stabbing her, that became his
00:37:18
intent. >> To me, what he's doing is he's getting rid of the witness. >> Ghart believes Doyle did not act like
00:37:25
someone incapacitated by drugs. Doyle drove 5 miles to that shopping center after leaving Donna's house.
00:37:33
>> This kid manages to ditch a knife. He abandons the car. And that's not a kid who's so high on mushrooms, he doesn't
00:37:40
know what he's doing. Triano says while a lot of the evidence against Brennan Doyle was strong, the
00:37:46
knife, the security camera videos, one thing put this case over the top. >> What is going to seal the fate of of
00:37:55
this boy, this kid, is that there's DNA in her vehicle that links to him. It's indefensible.
00:38:04
>> But as it turned out, there would be no need for a defense. In August of 2015,
00:38:10
Brennan Doyle agreed to a plea deal. In return, the prosecution dropped all but the two most serious charges, carjacking
00:38:19
and attempted murder. >> It was very important for me that he admit his guilt. If he took the plea, he
00:38:26
would have to confess his guilt to the court. In October 2015, Brennan Doyle, now 18 years old, appeared in Mammoth
00:38:37
County Superior Court for sentencing. Donna, who'd attended every court appearance, was there to face him one
00:38:45
last time. >> Even though I felt overpowered by fear, I wanted him to see me as strong
00:38:54
and as a survivor. It was an emotional day for Kirsten there to support her mother.
00:39:04
>> When you would look at him in court, what do you remember feeling? >> Anger. Just very angry.
00:39:14
Sorry. >> The drugs turned me into the monster that night. >> Doyle was permitted to address the
00:39:23
court. I pray and hope her wounds will lessen and she will recover eventually. I am asking you to forgive me. Going to
00:39:33
prison will be the hardest thing I will ever have to face in my life. I'm afraid.
00:39:40
>> Brennan Doyle was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. The law requires him to
00:39:45
serve at least 85% of that time. Justice has to be done on both sides and we we have to be sensitive to that. We have a
00:39:54
16-year-old kid who for the most part had absolutely no prior history. The court has a balancing act to do.
00:40:01
>> Did it feel like justice? >> It did not. >> What would have felt like justice to
00:40:06
you? >> More like 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, if not longer. Even with Doyle off the streets, Donna
00:40:19
was still struggling. She had found PTSD and domestic violence support groups, but says there were none for victims of
00:40:28
random attacks. So, in 2015, she decided to create her own survivors of violent crimes.
00:40:37
>> Reason we took to the support group was to help each other cope. Donna connected
00:40:43
with fellow survivors Tiffany and Dana Richards. Together, they held meetings and felt gratified they could help when
00:40:52
more survivors joined. >> They're finding relief and knowing that they're not alone.
00:40:58
>> But Donna says her work isn't done. Her future plans include helping victims connect with trauma therapists and
00:41:05
offering self-defense classes. As she grows her support group, she's also educating others. She travels to
00:41:13
prisons, meeting with inmates, and addresses police cadets so they can understand the victim's point of view.
00:41:21
>> I got up. I made it up the stairs to my bedroom where my cell phone was, but I
00:41:26
got through to 911. She survives and she's building a life. How could anyone not applaud that?
00:41:42
>> Donna says the physical scars that remain are a reminder of the surgeons who saved her life.
00:41:50
>> This is artwork. They're beautiful artwork. You could either get sucked into the
00:41:56
darkness or you just keep going. I did what I had to do to to be here today and go another day.
00:42:09
[Music] A mother disappears. Evidence points to homicide. >> And she's nowhere to be found.
00:42:36
>> The suspect is gone, too. Leading US marshals on a relentless manhunt. >> He was using the railways to move
00:42:42
around, hopping trains. >> The chase is on. >> Justice is coming. >> 48 hours next on CBS and streaming on
00:42:48
Paramount Plus. [Music] Before we begin, just a trigger warning. The following episode does include
00:43:00
mentions of graphic physical violence. >> I survived a violent home invasion after
00:43:06
everything was said and done. Um, it was I lost in in total close to 3/4 of the blood in my body. There's no earthly
00:43:16
reason why I'm alive. None. There is none. As you heard, that is Donna Anakaco, who
00:43:24
miraculously survived a random attack in her Coltsneck, New Jersey home back in the early morning hours of July 7th,
00:43:33
2013. Donna lived with her 21-year-old daughter, but she was home alone that night. And after opening her front door
00:43:40
to let her cat back in the house, Donna then encountered an intruder attempting to cut through the screen of the window
00:43:47
by her front door. He proceeded to stab her multiple times on her face and in her chest before leaving with her purse
00:43:55
and her car keys. As Donna lay on the floor bleeding, she somehow found the strength to crawl upstairs where her
00:44:02
cell phone was and she called 911 while her attacker then escaped in her car. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Just stand up on me.
00:44:10
Okay. Where did you get stabbed? >> In the neck. Blood is gushing out and in the chest.
00:44:15
>> Okay. My heart. I'm pouring gushing blood of it. >> Then before briefly losing
00:44:20
consciousness, she was able to describe her attacker in great detail. >> He was probably about 17, white, real
00:44:29
skinny, curly hair, blonde, dirty blonde hair, a little bit long in the backpack. I'm
00:44:36
losing consciousness. Okay, just stay with me. Okay. >> Yeah, I could feel the water is just the
00:44:42
blood is just water. It's like water. After paramedics arrived, Donna then was rushed to the hospital. And as you heard
00:44:48
her say, she lost close to three quarters of the blood in her body. But thanks to Donna's detailed description
00:44:56
of her attacker and additional tips and DNA evidence, police identified 16-year-old Brennan Doyle as a suspect.
00:45:05
He was arrested nearly 4 months after stabbing Donna. And Doyle claimed he was under the influence at the time of magic
00:45:12
mushrooms. In 2015, Doyle pleaded guilty to attempted murder and carjacking, and
00:45:17
he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. And while Doyle is in prison, Donna is still struggling to recover from the
00:45:25
trauma of her attack. I'm Natalie Morales of 48 hours, and this is It Could Have Been Me.
00:45:35
[Music] Welcome, Donna. It is so good to have you here with us and thank you so much
00:45:41
for being willing to share your story with us. Thank you for having me. I know what you went through was so traumatic
00:45:49
physically, emotionally. How are you doing today? >> Um physically all of my injuries have
00:45:55
healed. I have some, you know, nerve damage, uh pins and needles in my left arm. Um but other than that, physically
00:46:03
I'm okay. you know, psychologically, um, it's I'm still working on that. Um, I can go places by myself now,
00:46:12
>> but do I like being in the dark, in the night, by myself? No. Still, it um is it
00:46:19
it is difficult for me. Your your physical scars have healed so beautifully as well. You don't see them
00:46:25
as much anymore, but um, as you said, the emotional trauma is still something that you live with. And um I know that
00:46:33
has to be so difficult to go through as you said the nighttime and the darkness because that's when the attack happened.
00:46:40
Um you've moved out of that house though and um I know that area of New Jersey. I
00:46:46
lived in New Jersey for many many years. It's a beautiful peaceful area, horse country. Something like this though, you
00:46:53
never expect something like this to happen in Colts Neck, New Jersey, right? >> No, never. I felt very safe there. Never
00:46:59
in my wildest nightmares would I would think this would happen there. >> Take me back to that night. Your
00:47:06
daughter Kirstston, she was out at a party. You nodded off, but then you went to open the door to let your cat back
00:47:12
in. What happened then? >> Right. So when I opened the door, I saw a kid standing on the porch. That's what
00:47:21
I zoned in on. Um, and then like a millisecond later, I saw the knife that he had and he was cutting into the
00:47:28
screen and the window and my response kicked into, oh, I got to shut this door, you know. So, as I was shutting
00:47:36
the door, he charged at the door and the knife, it stuck through just a a tiny little opening um before I could
00:47:46
actually shut the door and it cut my finger, the tip of my finger, and I pulled my hand off the door. You know,
00:47:52
that was like that was the most painful moment. U was that knife cutting the tip
00:47:58
of my finger >> because my body hadn't shut down yet at that point. It was just sliced into my
00:48:04
hand. Um so when I pulled my hand off the door, he pushed the door in and was face to face with me in my kitchen. I
00:48:13
could not think far enough ahead to say he's going to cut me with that knife. M >> um but sure enough he was standing just
00:48:22
straight in front of me and he just started slashing me. Uh my face you could see this part um here but it
00:48:29
actually goes all the way back here. So he just took the knife and you know slash that way and I could not
00:48:38
process again that he would actually cut me. So I'm holding my my face like this
00:48:44
and he's slashing my neck. um you know and then so now I'm like oh you know like what's you know what's happening
00:48:51
and he stabbed me straight into my chest >> um and still even with the sl you know
00:48:58
the slashes and the stabs I couldn't process that he was actually like another stab was going to come another
00:49:05
slash was going to come like I couldn't process that um gosh it is unreal hearing you describe all of this and
00:49:13
it's still so clear as day to you in your memory I can see that. I'm sure that's so hard to relive
00:49:21
>> that moment, the pain you were feeling in that moment. >> And as I understand, this is this is a
00:49:27
young man that you'd never seen him before. It's not somebody you recognized, right?
00:49:32
>> Right. Totally random. >> You saw though, he seemed to be young. You got a good feel for what he looked
00:49:40
like. I mean, you were staring at him as he's doing this to you. You wouldn't take your eyes off him.
00:49:44
>> Absolutely correct. Yep. Without a doubt. >> So, he's attacking you multiple times.
00:49:50
He stabbed you at this point. >> In that time, what's going through your head? Are your survival instincts
00:49:57
kicking in? >> Yes. I Well, I started to think, um, you know, I have to get that knife. Like, I
00:50:02
have to get it out of his hands. Um, so as I was backing away from him, um, I tried to grab the knife from him. You
00:50:09
know, I, you know, in my head, I'm I'm going to grab that knife and I'm going to get it away from him. But um it
00:50:15
literally just cut my hand open. I ended up on the floor um you know when he came
00:50:21
over to me on the floor. He asked me um for my car keys and for a lighter. So I directed him to that to my purse and uh
00:50:30
he went through my purse and got what he needed. And and I know that you were wanting to figure out get get to your
00:50:38
cell phone, right? That was part of the whole thinking at that moment. Yeah, my cell phone was upstairs once he left
00:50:44
with the car keys, the lighter. That was your opportunity. You had to get upstairs.
00:50:50
How'd you do that? I mean, in the condition you were in. I have no idea. I have no idea. I always say that there
00:50:58
was definitely divine intervention that helped me get up and get up the stairs. And I feel like I floated up those
00:51:05
stairs um and to my phone. >> Almost like an out-of- body experience really. >> Yes. Yes, absolutely.
00:51:12
>> And I know part of your motivation was your daughter. She was out, but you knew
00:51:17
she would come back. You knew she would find you. I could just imagine Kirsten coming in, you know, walking in through
00:51:24
that door and finding me laying there. Um, and that couldn't happen. That just um
00:51:32
wasn't something I was prepared to let happen. You got to your phone yet incredibly you were still with it enough
00:51:39
to look outside and notice that your attacker was still there in the car. So you had to be really careful once you
00:51:46
got your phone, right? What did you do? >> Yes. I I picked up my phone and it was
00:51:51
still on the um attached to the cord and I you know I knew that if I unplugged the cord from it, you know, it was going
00:51:59
to light up and he would see like that light um in the dark. And I was so terrified that he was going to see that
00:52:05
and he was going to come back in. And so I kind of just, you know, slunk down to
00:52:10
the floor with it and tried to be as careful as I could. Um, and it was hard just trying to swipe on
00:52:17
the phone just to unlock it. Um, because I had so much blood on my hands. Finally, I just wiped it off, wiped it
00:52:23
off on the side of the bed and, uh, was able to dial 911. >> Do you remember that call at all now?
00:52:30
>> I remember feeling so panicked, just just desperate, and trying to get all of the right information out, all
00:52:38
the right words out. After the criminal trial was done, I went back to uh the prosecutor's office and I asked them if
00:52:46
I could hear my 911 call um because I wanted to make sure like did I actually speak clearly? Did I actually give them
00:52:55
all this information like they said I did? And um that was really empowering for me to go back years later and and
00:53:02
hear that recording. >> You you give me goosebumps, you know, just imagining you hearing that for the
00:53:08
first time after having gone through what she went through. Um you made it out of that house. Incredible. And then
00:53:16
you had to undergo 7 hours of surgery. Um when you're in the hospital, is it true that you were worried that your
00:53:24
attacker might come back for you? >> Oh yeah, without a doubt. Um, you know, in every scary movie that you see or
00:53:31
every, you know, type of slasher movie like that, you see, the killer comes back dressed as a doctor, dressed as a
00:53:36
nurse, or they slip in and um, you know, as an orderly or something like that. >> But they, I kept telling them, you know,
00:53:43
like like, is there a guard out, you know, asking them, is there a guard outside my door? Um, you know, and they
00:53:49
kept trying to assure me that it was a secure floor. Um, I was under an alias. Nobody was getting on on this floor into
00:53:56
my room unless uh they knew my alias. >> Yeah. Absolutely terrified. >> Your alias was Sarah Reese. Yeah. It was
00:54:04
shocking actually to see that on my wristband. I I know you describe feeling like you almost lost your identity
00:54:11
because the attack it's like it took so much away from you. I completely do not identify with who I was pre-attack.
00:54:22
there. I feel like there is not a stitch of me left from, you know, before the attack.
00:54:28
>> You're a different person now. >> Totally different person. And I'm uh still trying to figure out uh who that
00:54:34
is. >> It's obviously a work in progress, but you're so strong and and you see you're
00:54:40
such a survivor. Um I know your friend Sharon Sharp was was really important to helping you go through your recovery.
00:54:49
She described seeing you in the hospital there those very first few days and the
00:54:53
stab wounds and you know how much blood even was in your hair at that moment and
00:55:00
and she talked about that. Let's take a listen here. Her beautiful long hair was
00:55:05
just caked. I mean caked. It was almost like it was almost like a thing you could pick up in blood and all she'd say
00:55:13
was, "I want my hair washed. I want my hair washed." Everybody could smell it. You couldn't
00:55:20
not smell it. It was horrible. It was horrible. >> And I love that in that moment, your
00:55:26
friends saw what you needed and they took action. They washed your hair. They tried to be strong for you when you
00:55:33
needed that. Um the washing of the blood out of my hair. Uh that for me was so it
00:55:39
was almost ceremonial. Um, that was a lingering ick factor for me was that smell, that
00:55:47
smell of blood. I just couldn't shake it. Well, it it was it was just 4 days later that you were able to leave the
00:55:54
hospital. And I mean, I think you had something like 37 stitches, am I right? And 38 staples throughout your body.
00:56:03
>> Yeah. I think they would have kept me there longer, but every day I was like,
00:56:07
I'm ready to go. I have to leave. I did not feel safe there at all. >> And of course, you didn't feel safe
00:56:13
going back to the house. So, you didn't go back there. Where did you end up going?
00:56:17
>> Yeah. So, I ended up going back to my parents house. So, it was my mother and
00:56:21
my father um and a brother that lived there and my sister lived there at the time with her three children. So, there
00:56:28
was no room at at the inn for me. >> Um so, they ended up just uh kind of putting me in my niece's room. It was
00:56:37
chaos. Well, and and I know you were concerned because your attacker was still out there and it would take four
00:56:43
months before 16-year-old Brennan Doyle was then arrested and you know your attacker, we said he was young. What was
00:56:51
your reaction though when you heard I mean he was just 16 years old. I mean I stood face to face with him so I saw him
00:56:58
and I knew he was young. I didn't realize he was that young. Um, and kind of shocked because I was in
00:57:05
really good shape physically. And if you said a 16-year-old was going to, you know, force away into your house and
00:57:11
attack you, I would have said absolutely not. That is not going to happen. I was
00:57:14
in the best shape of my life. Um, there was no way >> that that was going to happen. But, uh,
00:57:22
fight, flight, or freeze. And I froze. >> Yeah. And he was then charged as an adult. Mhm.
00:57:29
>> When you heard what Brennan Doyle was alleging, he said it was magic mushrooms
00:57:36
that possessed him to do what he did to you. What did you make of that? >> Yeah, I thought that was just um a
00:57:44
copout. He seemed very present and very sure of what he was doing. So, I don't buy the whole um hallucinogenic
00:57:56
story. Did you see him in court? >> Yes, I went to every single court appearance there were throughout the um
00:58:04
the two years between the time the attack and then the actual trial in 2015. I went to every single appearance
00:58:12
even if it was just like a 10-minute like this is what's happening thing because I wanted him to see me. I wanted
00:58:18
him to know that I was alive and um and and I was showing up, you know. >> And he pleaded guilty to attempted
00:58:26
murder and carjacking. That was in 2015, then sentenced to 15 years in prison. What was your reaction when you heard
00:58:34
that sentence? >> If we were to go to trial, I was told that he can maintain his innocence and
00:58:42
there would be no guarantee of him of the amount of time that he would get. um if we went to trial, he could get
00:58:49
four years, he could get, you know, 7 years, what have you, but if he takes a plea deal, they told me he has to admit
00:58:57
his guilt to the court. So, when they said he's going to take a plea deal for uh 15 years,
00:59:06
I I wanted that as opposed to taking a chance that he could get four years and maintain his innocence.
00:59:12
>> Mhm. So, the there was a a civil award after the criminal trial uh where I was
00:59:18
awarded $5 million. I have not seen any money from that. >> He could be coming out soon, you know,
00:59:26
in a couple of years. Have you come to the terms with the fact that he might be released?
00:59:31
>> I have not come to terms with that. I am I have to work on that. I feel like he's
00:59:37
not going to come out and come after me, but you know, you never know. There's there's that little part of me
00:59:45
that you're not going to convince that he he doesn't want to hurt or harm me. [Music]
00:59:58
You know, I it's it's hard to even ask the question, but what does closure look like for you? I mean, especially when
01:00:06
you talk about this was such a random act of violence. >> Yeah. you know, um, hindsight is 2020, so looking back on
01:00:18
how I came out of the hospital and everything was so chaotic and everybody was so traumatized, nobody knew what to
01:00:24
do. Looking back now, um, had I been received into an environment that had created a safe environment for
01:00:35
me, that is what I needed. Like I needed that foundation. I still need it. The foundation of safety. I have to figure
01:00:42
out, can I live in a standalone house by myself >> or do I have to always live in a an
01:00:47
apartment with other people around or a condo or, you know, something with other
01:00:51
people around, >> you know? And I think what what you're doing now is so remarkable because
01:00:57
you're trying to help people understand >> what it means to be a victim of a random
01:01:02
attack and and the emotions, you know, the the post-traumatic stress that goes along with all of that when it comes to
01:01:10
healing. Yeah. Uh well, when well, first of all, I didn't think maybe the first couple days when I was
01:01:19
out of the hospital, I didn't think that I had post-traumatic stress. Like, I didn't I was just like, you know, this
01:01:25
is a hor, you know, a violent, horrible thing. And um I'm going to calm down and
01:01:31
things will be okay. I followed the steps of like what I was supposed to do, followed doctor's orders and things like
01:01:37
that. It wasn't until things started happening to me that um it really set in like the nightmares and the not sleeping
01:01:47
and um I couldn't be around people and the isolating and the >> um the emotions up and down like I could
01:01:54
be sitting here um just like this and all of a sudden I wouldn't be crying but tears would be pouring out of me.
01:02:02
>> I had all this tra trauma inside me and it had to be released somehow. Right.
01:02:06
And Donna, what what are you doing now to help you know get through this? I mean, it's still it seems like it's very
01:02:13
emotionally traumatic still to this day. >> Yes. So, I still am in therapy. Um, I
01:02:21
was on anti-anxiety medications. I was on medication. Whatever the the doctors thought that I
01:02:28
should be on, I I followed their protocol. Um I also uh started to do yoga and meditation and aroma therapy.
01:02:38
Anything calming, mind, body, soul type calming things. >> To help you heal though, I know that you
01:02:44
created a support group specifically focused on victims of random attacks. Why was that important to you?
01:02:52
>> You know, nobody could put together the the that random act. nobody could put
01:02:56
together that I was alone in the night in the dark and barely escaped death. I knew I needed to talk to somebody else
01:03:08
and um hear their experience. I guess more for hope, right? Let me I want to hear from somebody who who got to the
01:03:15
other side of this who survived it and is doing well and is thriving and you know has all these ways of coping. So, I
01:03:22
just wanted with the support group, I wanted to be able to be a safe place for somebody else to tell their story.
01:03:28
>> Um, you know, hold space for somebody else. >> I I heard you saying that you have the
01:03:33
same job and that you had before the attack that they've been very supportive and helpful.
01:03:39
>> Yes. Yeah. Thank you so much for pointing that out because um having my job to go back to and having a purpose
01:03:48
to get up and get out of bed and um go to work every day that was so important. It's the one thing that has not changed
01:03:56
since the attack. It's the one constant. And what do you want people to know about victims of random attacks? How do
01:04:03
we talk to people who've gone through what you've gone through in a way that doesn't also, you know, become
01:04:10
triggering? I think you really have to meet people where they are and in hearing somebody talk about whatever
01:04:19
they're experiencing or whatever they're going through. You don't have to fix it.
01:04:24
You you don't have to offer advice. Just listen, you know, just just let let them
01:04:31
release that. um without judgment. >> Um I know before the attack you competed in tough mutters and you know you as you
01:04:42
said you were in the best shape of your life back then. Um I think though what got you through this is you're the
01:04:48
toughest mother. I'm amazed again how you got up those stairs, you called 911, you gave that
01:04:55
description and really all came from a place of love knowing that you needed to protect your daughter. Um, how are you
01:05:03
and and Kirsten doing today? Yeah, she's doing well. Um, she's building a life um
01:05:10
of her own with her husband. There's still that uh there's like a wedge there from the attack. I feel like I'm there's
01:05:19
always something in my everyday life. that relates to the attack or something from the attack and I feel like I I
01:05:25
don't want to put that on her because that then >> causes her to think about it and then
01:05:32
you know so there's a wedge there where I kind of try to protect her from my stuff and she kind of tries to protect
01:05:40
me from any of her stuff and it's not the healthiest thing but um we're going to get through it.
01:05:46
>> I know you will and and I know it has to be so hard. I mean, you both have been
01:05:51
through so much. So, it's it's understandable how, you know, in trying to protect one another, you end up
01:05:57
sometimes putting, you know, blocks in the way in the path of allowing you to have, you know, a really open and honest
01:06:04
conversation. >> But you'll get there. You'll get there because the work you're doing is amazing
01:06:09
and >> sharing your story, helping others is helping you. And I can see that. So,
01:06:16
Donna, you're you're incredible, and it's such a privilege to get to know you, and I know it wasn't easy having a
01:06:23
conversation again about what happened to you, but we so appreciate you sharing it because perhaps in in helping us
01:06:29
understand how best to talk to victims of random attacks, you're creating an opportunity as well to let us just
01:06:36
understand people going through traumatic experiences as a whole. >> Thank you so much.
01:06:44
We want to thank you for listening to It Could Have Been Me. I'm Natalie Morales
01:06:48
and you can always find your latest podcast in the 48 hours podcast feed. It's free on the Odyssey app or wherever
01:06:56
you get your podcasts. [Music]