When cops and firefighters showed up to reports of a house fire in Dickson County, Tennessee this week, they found something much more horrific inside.
Upon arrival, firefighters could see that the home had heavy smoke coming from it. But even worse, they saw that there was a woman at the back door who was horrifically injured. She had multiple stab wounds in both her upper back and her chest. She even still had the knife inside her body!! OMG!
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First responders rushed in and began medical treatment immediately. As they did, a man later identified as 28-year-old Zachary Mowel walked up to police officers and, per WKRN, said:
“I did it. It was me.”
WOW…
Cops arrested him and quickly identified that the injured woman was his wife, Tessa. Investigators learned that the couple had been having a fight that turned extremely violent. During their disagreement, Mowel allegedly attacked Tessa with the knife. Then, per a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation press release, he doused her with gasoline and set her and the home on fire. Holy s**t!
A GoFundMe for Tessa, put forth by her twin sister Tori Ila Elizabeth Trotter, explained the attack in much more detail. Per Tori, Tessa came home on the night of July 1 after work and Zachary allegedly stabbed her in the back with a knife. Zachary then stabbed Tessa another eight times in the neck, chest, and back, per Tori. He also struck her dozens of times in the face with his fists, as well. OMG…
Per Tori’s GoFundMe explanation, Zachary then set up the fire:
“He poured gasoline on her and set her on fire while watching her burn to death. He then set the house on fire and left her to die.”
Even worse, the couple’s two sons were watching the whole thing. Per the fundraising page, the boys — who are 5 and 8 — were “watching and pleading for their dad to not kill their mom.”
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Tessa may have survived the awful attack, but her injuries are severe. The GoFundMe explained that she has third-degree burns running the entire length of her leg, all of her ribs are broken, her lung has collapsed, and she is paralyzed from the waist down.
Tori wrote:
“Tessa is strong but she has a long road to recovery and therapy. Tessa is the strongest person I know and her and her boys did not deserve this torture!”
As of Friday morning, more than 500 people have donated more than $38,000 to the GoFundMe to help with Tessa’s medical bills and recovery. You can visit the GoFundMe for yourself and support her HERE.
The twins’ mother Tina Trotter spoke to local news station WSMV about the tragedy, too. The family had been planning a get-together this week that was supposed to happen not long after the attack occurred. Tina told the news outlet that Zachary stabbed Tessa first with their sons right there, then allegedly put the boys in his truck before continuing to attack Tessa and then setting fire to her and the home:
“The boys were sitting right there, my grandsons, and he grabbed her arm and stabbed her. She told Jackson, her oldest child, to go call 911, and he [Zachary] wouldn’t let him do it. … He promised me he would never do that, and then to do this in front of the boys. I don’t know, that’s why I can’t get my head around it.”
Tina said that two passersby walking along the street likely saved her daughter’s life, because they saw smoke coming from the house and sprung into action to call the cops and try to get her out of harm’s way. Of the good samaritans, Tessa’s mother said:
“God bless you, and I will reach out to you once my family finds out who you are. Our family is so grateful for y’all because I wouldn’t have her today.”
Mowel didn’t give cops any idea of a motive for the attack, or why the couple’s disagreement had turned violent and gone to such an extreme level. But he was arrested and booked on multiple charges, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated arson, domestic violence-related aggravated assault, and domestic assault. He was then taken to the Dickson County Jail, where per local news reports, he is still being held on a bond of $765,000.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Dickson County Sheriff’s Office/GoFundMe]