Kyli Watts: LA woman, 24, sustains serious brain damage after homeless man stabs her in the head with shears
Warning: The article contains graphic description of crime that could be triggering to some readers. Discretion is advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A homeless guy in Los Angeles attacked a woman in the head with a pair of gardening shears, inflicting serious brain damage. On October 10, 2022, Kyli Watts, 24, was strolling down the street when Jonathan Cole, 30, came and stabbed her in the skull with a pair of shears in an entirely unprovoked attack.
In order to get assistance, Watts was able to leave the area and go to a coffee shop nearby where she called her mother, a mental nurse in North Carolina. According to one of Watt’s friends, doctors had to perform surgery to remove the four-inch blades that were lodged in her head. KTLA reported that the 24-year-old is still recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center having survived the horrifying incident. Watts has been warned that the stabbing may have long-term effects on her vision and balance. Weeks before the incident, she was laid off from her tech recruiting job and is uninsured. With Watts expected to stay in the hospital for at least another week, a GoFundMe has been established to assist her. The fundraiser has raised over $26,000 of its $50,000 goal. Cole, who allegedly has no fixed address, was detained by police. He could be charged with attempted murder and assault using a dangerous weapon.
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Amy Watts, Kyli's mother, said she is angry about the attack but not with Cole who caused her daughter to sustain a catastrophic brain injury. “There is no ill regard toward this human, no anger, no bad feelings,” the psychiatric nurse said to KTLA. “We've been a foster family for 15 years taking care of some severely mentally ill individuals. She understands that this is a very sick person.” The assault on her daughter and others in US cities is the result of a "social and systemic failure" for people with mental illnesses, according to Amy.
Police said that after stabbing Watts, Cole ran into a guy and a woman at a bus stop. The assailant hurled an entire jar of pickles at her, hitting her in the shoulder after the woman told him he couldn't have her lighter. Later, Cole was pursued by the man from the bus until he was apprehended by law enforcement officers at a local store.
Police stated that both incidents were "random and completely unprovoked." “This is a problem that we as a society have to look at and figure what's next, because this is just going to continue to get worse,” Amy said. In the past year, homicides in Los Angeles have increased by 7 percent.