Left inset: Emily Byles (GoFundMe). Right inset: Zachary Velasquez (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry). Background: The neighborhood in Glendale, Ariz., where Emily Byles was living when her fiance Zachary Velasquez allegedly attacked her (KSAZ/YouTube).
An Arizona man plunged a pair of scissors into his bride-to-be's face just weeks before their wedding, claiming he "thought he could hear her thoughts where she was talking s— about him," according to police.
Zachary Velasquez, 31, is facing aggravated assault and other charges in connection with the Oct. 5 attack on Emily Byles, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Byles was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering an injury to her vertebral artery that required surgery.
Police responded after Byles' 11-year-old daughter called 911, telling dispatchers she was worried about her parents after "hearing screaming from their bedroom," the affidavit says.
Officers arrived and forced their way into the bedroom after hearing Byles yelling from inside. Byles told officers Velasquez "was trying to kill her," according to police.
"Upon entering the bedroom, officers observed the victim laying down on her back covered in blood," the affidavit says. "The victim was observed to be holding scissors. Officers observed the defendant with no shirt on, red shorts, and his hands covered in blood."
Speaking to local Fox affiliate KSAZ, Byles said Velasquez "wasn't trying to just hurt me. He was trying to end my life," the station reports.
"Completely mortified that someone that says he loves me and would protect me would just literally try to murder me," Byles said.
She told police that Velasquez was allegedly using methamphetamine and claimed he was a prophet who needed to kill her to save her. Velasquez told police the incident began as "an argument" after Byles "saw pictures of females on the defendant's phone," according to the affidavit.
"The victim stated the defendant told her to lay her head down on the floor and go to sleep," the affidavit alleges. "The victim stated the defendant told her if she got up again, he was going to kill her. The defendant also stated to the victim that it was God's plan for her to die."
Byles allegedly continued to get up, and Velasquez went after her with the scissors, according to police. He also hit her on the head about 30 times and stabbed her, Byles says.
"I felt like maybe I, like, died because it was like an out-of-body experience of going past earth and past heaven," Byles told KSAZ.
In a GoFundMe campaign, Byles described the severity of her injuries, saying, "I was stabbed multiple times, my artery was cut, and I was severely beaten."
She also said the alleged attack upended life for her and her daughters, leaving them separated while she recovered.
"Since that night, our home has been left unlivable, with too much blood to even clean up," Byles said. "I lost my belongings, and my girls and I have been separated. Right now I am staying with a friend while I recover from stitches in my face, and my daughters are staying safely out of town with my sister while I heal."
Byles told KSAZ the attack happened about a month before the couple's planned wedding. She alleged that Velasquez had threatened to kill her two daughters, but her oldest daughter called 911 before an attack on the children occurred.
"She's very, very brave, and I couldn't imagine what she's going through," Byles said of her daughter.
While speaking to police, Velasquez allegedly acknowledged putting Byles in a chokehold and punching her, but claimed he acted in self-defense. He said Byles made him worried that she was "suicidal," so he started hiding knives and scissors from her.
"According to the defendant, the victim located one of the scissors," the affidavit says. "The defendant stated the victim came at him with the knife, but he was able to turn the knife around and stab the victim in the neck. The defendant stated he removed the knife from the defendant's neck and they both fell to the floor where they wrestled over the knife."
Velasquez allegedly continued to stab Byles after gaining possession of the knife. He claimed Byles was also using methamphetamine that night.
"He's going to get what he deserves," Byles told KSAZ. "I'm sure."
Velasquez is charged in Maricopa County with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct, intimidation and recklessly handling a weapon. He has previously been convicted of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery.