An Arizona man has been arrested for the near decapitation and death of an Alabama man who was sat at a bus stop with his wife as they mourned the loss of their stillborn baby.
Daniel Michael, 25, was arrested and charged with first degree murder after allegedly attacking Jacob Couch, 32, with a hatchet earlier this month.
Couch died on Friday April 18 after succumbing to his injuries following the attack on April 5 at around 10am.
The pair had been in California for several months, mourning the loss of their stillborn baby boy, and decided to travel to their hometown of Arab, Alabama, by bus when their bus stopped in Tuscon.
Michael allegedly approached the couple who sat at the bus stop and ‘initiated a confrontation.’
Couch’s brother, Luke Couch, told Fox News: ‘Somebody told them to get up, and my brother told him to mind his own business.’
‘You know, they weren’t doing anything, weren’t causing trouble…Kristen could tell that the guy was really agitated, and so she told him they were getting up, and they were going to leave.’
But as Couch went to pick up their belongings, Michael allegedly produced a ‘sharp-edged weapon’ and struck the Alabama father in the back of the neck, leaving him nearly decapitated, according to the Tuscon Police Department.
Jacob Couch, 32, died on Friday after he was nearly decapitated at a bus stop in Tuscon as he mourned his stillborn baby boy with his wife
Daniel Michael, 25, was arrested and charged with first degree murder after allegedly attacking Couch with a ‘sharp-edged weapon’ at a bus stop in Tuscon
His wife, Kristen (pictured left), saw that the suspect had been agitated and urged Couch to move away. As her husband went to pick up their belongings, Michael allegedly swung at him from behind.
‘The man came up behind him and swung a hatchet. And witnesses said that he lifted the ax up over his head and swung it,’ Luke Couch added.
Michael then allegedly fled the scene and boarded a public streetcar.
Police arrived at the scene to find bystanders attempting to ‘render aid’ to Couch before officers took over, and he was transported to Banner University Medical Center
The suspect was identified through surveillance images before TPD searched his home and found additional evidence.
He was arrested on April 8 and booked into the Pima County Jail and initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with serious injury.
Couch had undergone surgery for several hours but later developed pneumonia resulting in his death.
Luke Couch told KVOA: ‘They just explained that his heart gave out and he didn’t respond to CPR or any drugs they gave to try and revive him.’
Luke told the outlet that he and his brother grew up together and ‘were very close.’
‘I can’t believe we made it 11 years. I always thought we would have so many more. I’ll love you forever and always. Please hold our sweet baby so tight until I can be with you again,’ Kristen wrote
Almost exactly one year prior to the deadly attack, Couch and his wife Kristen, lost their baby boy who was stillborn due to a heart defect that restricted his growth
Suspect appears after allegedly murdering man with a hatchet
Couch’s wife, Kristen, wrote on Facebook: ‘I know Jake tried to fight. We could all see it, but now I think that may have been what little closure he could give us before he left this world.’
‘I can’t believe we made it 11 years. I always thought we would have so many more. I’ll love you forever and always. Please hold our sweet baby so tight until I can be with you again.’
Almost exactly one year prior to the deadly attack, Couch and his wife Kristen, lost their baby boy who was stillborn due to a heart defect that restricted his growth.
‘I still always end up in the baby section and I’m immediately brought back to when I was actually there purchasing things for the baby I was growing…’ she wrote just days before the attack.
‘I could so clearly picture a rowdy little blonde hair boy who I whole heartedly believed was sent to heal our family.
‘I can’t believe it’s been almost a year. I’ll never get over the heartache of losing our sweet baby boy.’
Now, Couch leaves behind his wife and 15-year-old daughter.
A GoFundMe, originally created to help the victim’s family travel to see him and aid medical expenses, has been set up to cover funeral expenses, legal costs and to provide a fund for his daughters, 15-year-old Ella and 13-year-old Grayson.
‘I still always end up in the baby section and I’m immediately brought back to when I was actually there purchasing things for the baby I was growing…’ Kristen wrote just days before the attack
‘He’s got the biggest heart that I believe I’ve ever met, and I really do mean that. He was just a caring person. He loved his family. He was really big about his family,’ said Couch’s brother Luke
The fundraiser has currently raised over $77,000 of their $25,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon.
‘He’s got the biggest heart that I believe I’ve ever met, and I really do mean that. He was just a caring person. He loved his family. He was really big about his family,’ Couch’s brother told Fox News.
The fight for justice, however, remains strong as Michael’s lawyer said at the initial bond hearing that self-defense couldn’t be ruled out, Fox reported.
Luke continued: ‘And they said [Michael’s lawyer] was going to be trying to grasp straws, grasp anything. I mean, my brother was attacked from behind while he was bent over. That is not self-defense.’
‘I want to make sure this man never does this again and no other family has to go through what my family has gone through.
‘To see my brother lying in a hospital bed and unable to move, unable to do anything, it hurts so bad to know that I wasn’t able to be there to protect him because he would have done it for me in a heartbeat. We as a family want swift justice.’
Michael appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday. It remains unclear how he pleaded.
‘A human was attacked by a human,’ Luke told People. ‘No matter what color their skin is, this is wrong.’
‘I just want everyone to know that we are not going away, I made a promise to my brother while he was sitting in that hospital bed that I would make sure he got justice,’ he told KVOA.
