Woman With Infant Stabbed In Random Attack

Attacker Lurked Around The Store For Hours Before Shocking Daylight Attack
Re-printed from a story at Asbury Park Press on January 19th 2013

A 19-year-old man tries to murder a total stranger, a woman with her baby, inside a New Jersey strip mall.

MIDDLETOWN, NJ. — A man already charged with torturing animals is now accused of attempted murder in the random attack of a young mother at a store in Middletown made his first appearance before a judge on Friday.

A spokesman at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune reported an improvement in the condition of the woman that Tyrik S. Haynes of Middletown is accused of repeatedly stabbing as she shopped and pushed a baby carriage in the Bed Bath & Beyond store Thursday afternoon.

The 19-year-old assailant is accused of repeatedly plunging a knife into Dalton around 4 p.m., puncturing both her lungs in an apparently random attack.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office reported that the 29-year-old Keansburg woman had been in critical but stable condition in a local hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds. Rob Cavanaugh, a spokesman for Jersey Shore, confirmed the victim’s identity as Kerri Dalton and said as of late Friday afternoon, her condition had been upgraded to good.

“Kerry and her family are grateful for the outpouring of public support and care she is receiving at Jersey Shore University Medical Center,” Cavanaugh said. “At the moment, they kindly request privacy to heal during this difficult time.”

Haynes, who turns 19 in April, showed no emotion as he appeared before state Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully, who informed him he is charged with attempted murder, child endangerment, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Decker asked that Haynes’ bail remain at $1,050,000. Scully obliged, citing the seriousness of the crime.

Family members said Kerri Dalton was at the store with her baby shopping for curtains Thursday around 4 PM when the attack occurred.

Haynes, who graduated from Middletown High School North, was held Friday at the Monmouth County Jail, Freehold Township.

Authorities said the defendant is the same man who is charged with torturing a cat to death Christmas Eve.

Chief Victor “Buddy” Amato of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the suspect was charged with torching a cat to death while it was in a cat carrier by using a lighter and aerosol spray can on Christmas Eve in a wooded area in Middletown.

Experts say that animal torture is almost always an indication of other problems.

CBS 2′s Young reported that Haynes is known locally as a suspected animal abuser. Workers at the nearby Petco told Young the suspect used to come in to stare at the cats and that he is accused of adopting cats and setting them on fire.

References:
Asbury Park Press, $1M bail stands for man accused of stabbing woman
WCBS-TV Channel 2, Woman Brutally Stabbed Inside Bed Bath & Beyond Store In N.J.

Popular Posts