A North Dakota woman has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after police say she struck her sleeping boyfriend in the head with a hatchet earlier this month, leaving him with serious injuries and prompting his hospitalization.
Authorities said Lena Deoliveira, 23, allegedly attacked Jonathan Granados around 5 a.m. on Sept. 5 while the couple and a third person were staying in a garage in Fargo. Granados was transported to a hospital after officers found a trail of blood at the scene and the witness alerted them, according to court documents and police statements.
A man who was also staying in the garage told investigators he awoke to "blood-curdling screaming" and saw Deoliveira striking Granados, the witness account in charging documents said. The witness described hearing a noise he likened to "splitting wood" and said he believed there were two strikes because one or two of Granados' fingers appeared to be missing or "kind of hanging." Officers later recovered severely lacerated fingers, and documents state Granados had a "large slice" in his skull.
The witness told police he knew Deoliveira as someone who frequently couch-surfed and had been staying in the garage and other neighborhood homes. He said Deoliveira appeared to be "out of it" at the time and fled the scene after the attack, the charging documents said.
Deoliveira was arrested without incident on Sept. 7 in Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo police said in a social media post. Booking photos released by authorities show Deoliveira smiling at the time of her booking. She is being held on $500,000 bond, according to court records.
Court documents and local reporting indicate Granados told investigators he was attacked without warning. The extent of his recovery or current medical condition was not disclosed in court filings available Monday. The Cass County jail roster lists Deoliveira as in custody on the charges, and court records show she is scheduled to appear in Cass County court on Oct. 16.
Police and court filings identified Deoliveira as the suspect based on the witness account and the physical evidence found at the scene, including a trail of blood leading from the garage where the three had been sleeping. Authorities have not released additional information about any motive.
The case remains under investigation. Prosecutors will review evidence presented by the Fargo Police Department and the Cass County prosecutor's office before pursuing formal charges beyond those already filed, court records indicate.