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Woman Uses Bible Verses to Ward Off Attacker

By Alyssa Newcomb | ABC News Blogs – Sat, Feb 4, 2012 1:10 PM EST

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                                                                                                                              ABC News

A North Carolina woman read the Bible to her attacker for an hour and a half after he slashed her throat before the man apologized and left.

Lindsay Wood, 32, of Shelby, N.C.,  had just arrived home from Bible study on Wednesday. Wood asked her 15-year-old son to collect the trash can from the curb. During this time, Wood's attacker walked into her home and slashed her neck.

"She told him please not to hurt her, that she loved the Lord and her son," neighbor Faye Cooke told ABC affiliate WSOC.

Police said Wood's son heard what was happening and hid in the backyard out of sight while Wood continued to reason with the man.

"She offered her car up, as well as money," Rick Stafford, a captain in the Shelby Police Department told WSOC.

But the man took none of those things.

Despite her injuries, Wood opened her Bible and read to her attacker.

He listened. She even invited him to her church.

After an hour and a half, her attacker apologized and left.

Wood is in the hospital recovering from her injuries, which required 20-25 stitches and staples in her neck.

Meanwhile, police are hoping to apprehend the man, who didn't seem to want anything more than to hurt an innocent person.

"We want him off the street," Stafford said.

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  • my2cents
    my2cents  •  3 months ago
    I had to help my mom once back when I was just a teenage "girl", and I ran to the neighbors house, walked past two Doberman Pinchers without even blinking an eye. You don't think of yourself when someone you love is in danger.
  • Smoky
    Smoky  •  Sarasota, Florida  •  3 months ago
    It is extremely odd that a 15 year old boy would hide for an hour and a half instead of running for help ---- can't figure that one out! But glad the mother is getting better.....
    • Chris Chase
      Chris Chase 3 months ago
      Maybe the son was scared and was afraid the attacker would see him and hurt his mom more so he stayed put.
  • Katie
    Katie  •  3 months ago
    Its possible she could talk for the 90 minutes. When I worked in the field a man cut his own throat and called 911 after waiting to die for 12 hours. He barely missed everything major. Just because the son didn't get help doesn't mean he was involved he could have been in a state of mental paralysis which happens often or think about all the crime that happens that people watch happen and then don't do anything.
    • CONNIE
      CONNIE 3 months ago
      The article didnt' say how bad it was, obviously im comparions, not as bad.
    • Mustard and Biscuits
      Mustard and Biscuits 3 months ago
      You right,I don't think he was involved either.I would like to hear his response to what happened though.
    • Sherrill
      Sherrill 3 months ago
      He would not have been in a "state of mental paralysis" for 90 minutes.
  • 1Mammy
    1Mammy  •  Scranton, Pennsylvania  •  3 months ago
    Just another mentally ill person on the loose here....The laws in this country have failed to protect the innocent. Instead, the mentally ill are protected. We cannot take them off the streets until they become a danger to themselves and others, which, very often, is AFTER someone else has been injured or killed by one of them. We cannot force them to take their medications, either. They can stop taking their medications and nothing can be done until they become a danger to themselves and others. Many of the institutions that housed the criminally insane and svere cases of the mentally ill have been ordered to close their doors due to the costs. Our government has instead, opted to house these people into group homes with case management. This is only a temporary residence for them since the states do not want to take on the costs. After only a few months, when they are deemed to be stable, they are placed in apartments in your community and subsidized housing where there are young children. Many stop taking their medications when out on their own and the cycle continues...
    • Pete S
      Pete S 3 months ago
      That is a very, very accurate representation of what has happened in Topeka, Kansas. Same scenario. Mental facility closed, moved to Oklahoma, and effectively abandoned everyone who stayed there. One unfortunate side of mental illness is that it is not clear-cut, and there is no recourse to get out if you have been wrongly committed. Some people languish their entire lives in a facility simply because the doctors refuse to release them, or a family member insists they're still insane. Happens all the time. Thorazine cocktails and lithium chasers.
    • Devon
      Devon 3 months ago
      Or we can all agree to pay more taxes to better address this issue. That's not going to happen and as budgets are slashed, you'll see much more of this.
    • John 316
      John 316 3 months ago
      1Mammy, you can blame Reagan for that one. He and the conservative controlled congress voted to close down the institutions and put these people on the street.
  • Jeff franklin
    Jeff franklin  •  3 months ago
    why didn't the dumb kid go to the neighbors house and call the police????
    • Babydoll
      Babydoll 3 months ago
      Because he's a dumb kid. They don't teach survival skills in Sunday school.
  • Lupi
    Lupi  •  Montreal, Canada  •  3 months ago
    The most important thing is that she's O.K.
    • Independent
      Independent 3 months ago
      Good point.
    • C C
      C C 3 months ago
      That's subjective. I think she's far from OK and has been since she was an uneducated teen-pregnancy who hid her identity in the bible statistic.
    • Lupi
      Lupi 3 months ago
      Well, that's a different subject. She could have told him fairy tales, for that matter. What's important is that she wasn't killed and that she'll hopefully be able to completely recover.
  • ISHI
    ISHI  •  3 months ago
    There is something missing in this story.
  • Mathis St.
    Mathis St.  •  Pittsburg, California  •  3 months ago
    Why didn't her 15 year old son call for help??Why didn't he run to a neighbors house and have them call the police? I'm touched that she read to him for an hour and a half, but why didn't her son get help somehow. This lady did a very great thing for that man, spirituallly, because he knew remorse before he left, but I don't get why a 15 year old hid instead of looking for a way to help his mother.
  • Lucy
    Lucy  •  3 months ago
    Why didn't the son get help? Call the police? Something?
  • 1 Tim 3
    1 Tim 3  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 months ago
    Why didn't son go for help if he was outside?
  • MM
    MM  •  3 months ago
    A 3-4 y/o can dial 911,... a 15 y/o hides in the bush for 90 min. WITHOUT trying to get to a neighbor (or any other way) to cal 911 ???
  • sicktired
    sicktired  •  3 months ago
    The 15 year old hid in the back yard?? Why didn't he go for help?
  • H
    H  •  3 months ago
    What 15 year old would hide for an hour and a half and not call the police or run to a neighbor's house?!?
  • amwhoiam
    amwhoiam  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  3 months ago
    Sooo...the perpetrator waits outside until someone conveniently leaves the door open, then, when the sone leaves...he RUSHES in and slashes the mom's throat for no reason but is not concerned that the son is coming back any moment? Lies.
  • Ron
    Ron  •  Raleigh, North Carolina  •  3 months ago
    so many stictches, that will hurt as it heals. bless her and no matter what really happened, she and her son are still alive.
  • alex
    alex  •  Durham, North Carolina  •  3 months ago
    All of these atheist posting negative comments make the rest of us(atheist) look bad.
  • 50 CAL
    50 CAL  •  Amelia, Ohio  •  3 months ago
    When I was 15 I would have blown the dirtball away if he had hurt my mom. We had guns in the house and I knew how to use them. And yes we went to church.
  • Ron
    Ron  •  3 months ago
    I guess I’m not sure what I would have done in her son’s position but I know I wouldn’t have just waited in the backyard. Something’s very wrong with this story. If this story really happen as described I can assure you most 15 year old males would find every ounce of bravery and strength to protect their mother. It’s called natural instinct.
  • KIONNA
    KIONNA  •  3 months ago
    when hell freezes over then ill believe this story!!!
  • sisi
    sisi  •  Cambridge, Massachusetts  •  3 months ago
    ok, why didn't her son go get help instead of hidiing in the yard?
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