Jacob Couch and his wife Kristen were traveling back to Arab after spending nearly a year in Los Angeles coping with the loss of their stillborn son. But before they could make it home, Jacob Couch was violently attacked by a hatchet-wielding assailant.
In an interview with KOLD-TV, Kristen Couch said a man attacked her husband at a bus stop as he bent down to pick something up, defenseless.
"Seeing your husband get almost decapitated and being the only one to help like it's, hard," she told the outlet.
A GoFundMe account set up by the family has raised just over $42,000. The money will allow the family to travel to and stay in Arizona as they plan to bring Jacob and Kristen home. According to the post, additional money will be used for funeral expenses.
The campaign, which was started by the victim's sister-in-law, also from Arab, said, "My brother-in-law is in critical condition in the trauma ICU ward at Banner University Medical Center, in Tucson, AZ. He and my sister were on the way home, back to Alabama, from California, when they got off of the bus in Tucson, and my brother-in-law was attacked."
Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Michael has been identified as the suspect in the brutal attack. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Homicide charges are expected. Right now, his bond is set at $1 million. It was reported that surveillance video caught the two men exchanging words just before the attack. Following the attack, video evidence shows him casually walking away.
Three days later, investigators recovered the hatchet used in the crime. Michaels's statement changed from he was too intoxicated to recall to admitting guilt.
"He's not expected to make it right now," Jacob's younger brother, Luke Couch, told Channel 13 News, "We've just been taking it how we can."
This is my older brother Jake. He was attacked last Saturday morning (4-5-25) around 10:00 am in Tuscon Arizona while on a 1-hour gap between buses, while traveling from Los Angeles back home to Alabama. Him and his wife were sitting on a bench when they were told to “get up” https://t.co/xCTTlGYfPX
— Luke (@lukecouch13) April 15, 2025
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