It Could Have Been Me: Donna Ongsiako | Full Episode + Podcast | Forensic Files

[Music] It is farm country, horse country, [Music] bucolic, upwardly global wealthy type of community. Affluent.
It's a quiet place. >> Tiny unassuming house. Just a a simple farmhouse. >> Colts Neck has a lot of these.
>> Yes. this beautiful little farmhouse with this beautiful farm star, you know, in
the middle of it. In July of 2013, I was an assistant prosecutor in Mammoth County, New
Jersey. Donna and Shako was alone. She had just gone to bed for the evening. An intruder came into her house and
attacked her, stabbing her repeatedly. >> 911. Where's emergency? >> Oh, my name is Don Chuck. I just got
stabbed. >> Where are you? >> Really bad. >> Kid just came in and stabbed me. >> My heart. I'm pouring gushing blood.
>> Okay, I'm losing consciousness. Keep your eyes open. >> Donna, Donna, >> I was driving home.
It was maybe like 3:00 in the morning, 3:30. As I pulled up closer, I saw big SUVs,
cop cars, lights flashing everywhere. I was like, "Where is my mom?" And they were like, "Well, she has been
attacked and she's on her way to the hospital." They couldn't tell me whether she was
alive or she wasn't. I was new into major crimes. I didn't have the experience that some of the
older detectives. So, I had never seen that much blood in before. >> Why would somebody do this? Who did
this? What did she ever do to anybody? You know, >> on that night in the early morning
hours, we got a 911 call from a worker from this restaurant. >> About how far from Donna's house are we
standing right here? >> This is about an 8minute drive. They called because they saw a subject
walking through their drive-thru. >> Detention, please. >> One of my customers were in drive-thru
were approached by a man with no shirt but had a knife in his hands >> knocking on windows carrying a knife.
One of the witnesses who saw the young man, she agreed to come in and give us a sketch.
>> Everybody was asking about the police sketch. It was in every store. People were frightened.
Can you tell me about the tip? >> I get a call. The woman on the other end says that she's calling about the
stabbing in Colts neck. She said, "I think my cousin may have something to do with that.
[Music] [Music] Tiny Colts neck, New Jersey sits just 50 miles from New York City,
but it might as well be a world away. So, in July 2013, this quiet community was rocked by news of a violent home
invasion where the victim was stabbed repeatedly. The only thing more shocking, >> my name is Donna Angakaco.
>> The victim survived. >> I lost in in total close to 3/4 of the blood in my body.
[Music] There's no earthly reason why I'm alive. None. >> If I had asked you at the time to give
me a list of a hundred things you're worried about, where would have home invasion been?
>> Oh, no. Never. Donna worked for a company that brokered fuel for ships on the nearby Jersey
shore. She and her daughter Kirstston lived in this farmhouse on the edge of flower
fields. >> She was 20 when she had me, so we're only 20 years and one day apart.
>> Friend Sharon Sharp hired Donna decades ago. >> Kirsten had just been born. >> Yeah, Kirsten was a baby. I thought she
was really brave being a single mom, very young. [Music] >> I was by her side all the time.
>> Kirsten, who now works as a welder, recalls what life was like just prior to her mother's attack.
>> We were going to the gym multiple times a week. Not only was she like mentally
strong, but she was physically strong. >> She was so fit. She did tough mutters with uh Kirsten.
>> I like that competition. I like to show strength, uh physical strength. Things
couldn't have been any better at that time. >> That's when Saturday of July 4th weekend
rolled around. Mammoth County Detective Andrea Tazzy says they were having a heat wave.
>> It was humid, but we had no rain or anything like that. I mean, it was a dry night. So, Donna
>> had her windows open. Yes. She had her windows open just to cir obviously to circulate air.
>> Kirsten was out at a party. So, I was home doing laundry. I'd say about 11, 11:30. Um, I decide I'm going to get
ready for bed. Um, I let the cat out. I went brushed my teeth. But just as she was drifting off to
sleep, >> I heard what I thought was the cat. I heard something and I remembered, "Oh, I
forgot to let the cat in." >> Without turning on any lights, Donna headed downstairs to open the front door
for her cat. >> But instead, when I opened the door, I saw someone standing there.
In the split second after seeing this person on my porch, I saw the knife. He was trying to cut into the screen of
the window that was right next to the front door. >> She says she didn't recognize the young
white male standing right in front of her holding a large knife. >> I tried to slam and shut the door.
My fingers were protruding out. He stuck the knife through the opening and cut my
finger. Um, so that I immediately let go of the door and then he pushed his way in.
I'm backing into my kitchen. We're face to face. It didn't register to me that he was
actually going to stab me. >> But without a word, that's exactly what the stranger did.
>> He slashed my cheek. And you can see that here. And actually, it starts back here. There was no way to process that
that happened. >> Donna's attacker came at her with the knife again. >> He then slashed three times on this side
of my neck. >> She tried grabbing the knife, but only cut her own hand in the process. Did you
feel like you were dealing with somebody who was really strong? No, but I felt like he was very sure,
like he was very in control of himself. >> Donna was starting to weaken from the
injuries. >> I felt like my legs were going to give out, so I braced myself against the
corner of um my bathroom right next to the front door. >> Sure enough, she slid down to the floor.
I was in fetal position and I'm bleeding and he came over and it was kind of like
he was playing, you know, with the knife and just started jabbing at me. So that's when he caught me here. Um, and
he got me in the back of my neck here. >> Finally, Donna's attacker spoke to her.
>> This was when he decided to ask me for my car keys and if I had a lighter. >> A lighter?
>> Mhm. I just answered him. Um, there's a lighter in my purse and my purse was on
the table back in the kitchen. So, he went over and was rumaging through my purse and got the keys, got the lighter.
>> Donna's asalent ended up taking her entire purse with him, but not before returning one last time to Donna, still
bleeding on the floor. >> He said, "You dead bitch." and plunged the knife into my chest.
Once he plunges the knife in and then removes it, what does he do then? >> He just walked out the door.
>> With no neighbors and earshot, Donna knew she must get help somehow. >> Your phone isn't in reach.
>> No, my phone was upstairs in my bedroom charging. >> Donna had no landline in the house. But
even as the blood was draining rapidly from her body, she had one pressing concern. above her own survival.
>> Kirstston could come home and find me. I just didn't want her to have to experience any level of the horror that
I had just gone through or any other levels in finding me there dead. >> So, this is a mother's instinct as pure
as it gets. >> Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. >> You know, you have to get upstairs if you're going to be able to make a call
for help, >> right? How do you get up those stairs? >> That I don't know. There was divine intervention that
helped me up those stairs. No doubt. No doubt in my mind. A mother disappears. Evidence points to
homicide. The suspect is gone, too. Leading US marshals on a relentless manhunt. The chase is on.
>> Justice is coming. 48 hours tonight on CBS. Streaming on Paramount Plus. >> Being an FBI agent is not just a job.
>> The city's under attack. >> It's a life. We're hunting a serial killer. >> The life we chose. People are in danger.
>> That only works if we're doing it together. >> Teamwork. >> Cover me. Let's rock and roll.
>> Yeah, my whole team. Every member clutch the whole team uses Tuesday on CBS and streaming on
Paramount Plus. >> We know how his story ended. Now see how it all began. NCIS Origins coming CBS
fall. [Music] She's a tiny little woman. You have to imagine that many stab wounds and she just willed it. She was
not going to die there. >> Former Mammoth County Assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart says Donna
Anshakaco was determined her daughter Kirstston would not come home to find her dead. She knew she had to get to her
cell phone upstairs. And I don't remember my feet or my hands actually touching the stairs.
The energy that it took for me to get up off the ground and up those stairs. I was definitely guided.
The amount of strength that goes into that is just unimaginable. >> But the motivation was you.
>> Yeah. >> Yep. Maybe I was there guiding her in spirit. Once Donna made it upstairs, she faced a
new challenge after peering out her bedroom window. >> She had a car sitting right here.
>> Right. She had a car sitting right in this area. >> I could still see the car was there and
I could see he the car was on and he was in it. If I take my phone off the charger, it's going to light up. He's
going to see the light. >> Afraid her attacker would come back for her, Donna did her best to hide the
light of the phone. Then just getting it to work became the next hurdle. >> My hands are covered in blood. My
touchcreen. I was trying to swipe and swipe. So I ended up having to wipe my hands off, wipe the phone off, wipe it
down on the bed, and then I was able to do the touchcreen and get through to 911.
>> Oh, my name is Don Shak. I just got stabbed really bad. Kid just came in and stabbed me. He stole my car.
>> Okay. Okay. Okay. Just stand up on me. Okay. Where did you get stabbed? >> In the neck. Blood is cushing out and in
the chest. >> Detective Andrea Tazzy says Donna's ability to place that call despite her
injuries was amazing. But then Donna did something even more extraordinary. She gave a detailed description of her
attacker. >> Okay. Do you know what he looked like? >> Yeah. He was probably about 17. White,
real skinny, curly hair, blonde, dirty blonde hair, backpack. It was pretty chilling to listen to Donna
and be able to hear her accurately talk about this is what happened. This is what he looks like.
>> I'm losing consciousness. >> And then hear her fade out. >> Donna. Donna. >> Hello, Donna.
>> Donna. >> Yes, ma'am. >> I think I just fell for a minute. Police and paramedics arrived less than
8 minutes after Donna dialed 911, but her attacker had already fled. Donna was rushed to Jersey Shore University
Medical Center and into trauma surgery. It would be a few more hours before Kirstston arrived home from her party to
a house surrounded by flashing lights. >> I saw the caution tape and that her car
was gone. >> Police told Kirsten what happened to her mother. You were deeply shaken.
>> Oh yeah. I remember at one point my knees buckled. They had the SUV, the undercover cop car. The trunk was open.
So I was like, can I sit here because I feel like I'm going to pass out. >> As Kirstston was processing the news, an
allout manhunt had already begun for Donna's asalent. Detective Tazzy says another 911 call had come in shortly
before Donna's attack. I was going to pick up my daughter and there was a kid hitchhiking
>> from a driver who saw someone walking along the road near Donna's house. >> They saw a young man with a backpack and
khaki pants. He was walking close to the fog line and kind of stepping into traffic and she felt that he was kind of
a hitchhiker. >> He was on the northbound side walking southbound and I'm afraid he's going to
get hit by a car. >> How old about? I'm going to say like 18, 19, 20, some something like that.
>> She was concerned because she just thought that maybe he needed help in some way.
>> And was a car dispatched? >> Yes. Yes. They didn't find him, though. >> Still, the good Samaritan driver had
inadvertently given the investigation its first leave. >> I felt that the the hitchhiker was my
person. It was too coincidental for that time of the night in that area for somebody to be walking. And then 15
minutes later, Donna is calling say that she was stabbed. >> And there was about to be another tip
not long after Donna's 911 call from a fast food restaurant 5 miles from her house.
>> They saw a subject walking through their drive-thru knocking on windows carrying
a knife and it looked like it had blood on it. Employees from the Taco Bell quickly called police.
>> You have any description of him? >> Yeah, he was wearing um you know like those army pants and he had no shirt.
He's white with like really like bushy hair but it was like long like the skater type hair.
>> How old was he? >> I don't know. He looked like he was like 18. >> Police rushed to the Taco Bell and
started canvasing the nearby shopping center. They didn't find their suspect, but they did find something else.
So, there had been a bolo put out on on Donna's vehicle. >> Be on the lookout, >> right? And in the process of looking for
this person here, they found the car. >> Donna's stolen car, this BMW, had been ditched behind a movie theater.
>> It was lights on and and it was running, so it clearly was an abandoned vehicle.
>> Tazzy says the car would become crucial. There was blood all over it. And so we
were hoping that we would get some kind of DNA evidence of our suspect. >> Did you?
>> We did. Sharon Sharp will never forget the dread she felt when she arrived at the
hospital to see her friend Donna Anakaco only to be told she wasn't there. >> I'm picturing the color draining from
your face and the air leaving your lungs like >> totally no. This cannot be. There's no
way she has to be here. >> Did you think maybe she had died? >> Yes. Yes. It turned out with her
attacker still on the loose, the hospital had admitted Donna under an alias to protect her, Sharon was allowed
to see Donna the next day. An intensive care room I've never seen before. It looked like an enlarged, massively
enlarged cockpit wall because there were tons of machines behind her and she looked almost like a puppet. Surgery was
7 hours, I believe. >> Despite losing 3/4 of the blood in her body, trauma surgeons had saved Donna's
life, but at a tremendous cost. You may find the pictures you're about to see disturbing.
>> I pretty much looked like a living cadaver. I had 37 stitches on my face and neck,
38 staples in my chest, seven stitches in my hand, and now internally my sternum is wired shut.
>> And as for that final stab to Donna's chest just before her asalent left, >> it missed my heart by the edge of a dime
is what I remember them telling me. the edge of a dime >> when she talks about the margin that the knife missed her
heart by. >> Yeah. If she was any slouched over anymore, that would have been it.
>> Kirsten says as soon as her mother was able to talk, she had one simple request.
>> I remember her saying, "All I smell is this blood in my hair. Can somebody please wash my hair?
>> Sharon says they got permission and then she and two of Donna's family members
did their best to wash Donna's hair as she lay in her hospital bed. >> We were determined to see if we can make
her smile. So, we turned it into a ridiculous idiot session with three of us like a factory line. We laughed
through our tears and anytime anybody would get too serious, we would make it funny.
>> But her hair was far from Donna's biggest concern. She was sure her attacker would find her and finish the
job. >> She was convinced that he was in the hospital. And we kept telling her, "No,
you're here under an alias." I survived. I stood face to face with him. I could 100% positively identify him. He's
coming back for me. Detective Tazzy says they were pretty sure the young man knocking on windows at the Taco Bell
drive-thru shortly after Donna's attack was their suspect. Within two days, a customer who saw him met with a police
sketch artist >> and was able to provide pretty great details on the person she saw that
night. >> Investigators then took the sketch to the hospital. >> What did Donna say when she saw that
sketch? She said, "Yeah, that's was incredibly accurate." She tweaked it a little bit. She said that yes, that
looks like the person who stabbed me. >> His curly blonde hair, he was like a surfer kid or a skateboarder or
something like that. >> Former assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart says the sketch of the suspect was soon
plastered all over Mammoth County and on law enforcement social media. So, people
are obviously talking and trying to figure out, do we know him? Where is he from? Who is this kid? And it's scary
because you like to have a sense of security in your community. >> Investigators reviewed the cameras of
stores in the shopping center near the Taco Bell to see if they'd get lucky and spot their suspect, hoping the more
images they had, the more likely the chance of identifying him. We were trying to go back and look at video from
various businesses to see the description and really to put out the bolo like this is who we're looking for.
>> Security cameras had captured the suspect once again. >> The surveillance we got from the store
over there was from inside the store, but it was pointing outwards. >> I see. And it definitely caught him.
>> Oh, yeah. You could see him walking. >> Wow. As police kept looking for the suspect,
Donna was turning a corner, at least physically. Amazingly, after just 4 days, Donna Anakaco was released from
the hospital. Sharon says that was all due to the training Donna had done prior to the attack.
>> Clearly, she's very physically fit. She wouldn't have survived this if she wasn't.
>> It's an amazing thing. you were out in 4 days, but as you leave the hospital, you are also
walking back into a world where whoever did this to you is still out there, >> right? But also, I wasn't going back to
the farm. I wasn't going back to my house. No, there was no way. >> In fact, Donna would never step foot in
her house again. She and Kirsten moved in with family living in New Jersey. Then just 8 days after the attack, not
long after the police sketch began circulating, Detective Tazzy's phone rang. >> I take the call and the woman on the
other end says that she's calling about the stabbing in Colts neck. >> I said, "Okay." I said, "How can I help
you?" And she said, "I I think my cousin Brennan Doyle may have something to do with that."
It was the first time Tazzy had heard the name Brennan Doyle. He was just 16 years old. His cousin told Tazzy word
was going around her family that Brennan was involved in the Colts neck stabbing.
The cousin had seen Brennan just days prior to Donna's attack >> between July 3rd and 6th because he was
up in Connecticut for her wedding with his family. >> He had attended her wedding. He attended
her wedding and she was able to provide us a picture of what he looked like during the time he was up there for the
wedding. >> The photo she sends is Brennan with long curly hair wearing camouflage shorts
looking very much like the kid in the sketch and more importantly on the videotapes.
Brennan's resemblance to the sketch all around town was about to become even more important because of what the
cousin told Detective Tazzy happened a few days later. >> She was staying at Brennan's family's
lakehouse in New Hampshire as a wedding gift. And Brennan, his brother, and the mother showed up there unexpected.
>> Hang on. This woman is in Lake Winnipegasi. She's on her honeymoon. >> Yes. And all of a sudden, there's
Brennan, Brennan's mother, Brennan's brother, crashing her honeymoon. >> Yes. And the dog.
>> But what was even more surprising was Brennan's appearance. >> Brennan's hair was cut.
>> The next time she sees him, he's cut his hair. >> Yes. >> So, that's a big red flag.
>> Yes. Brennan Doyle's cousin told investigators that Brennan showed up just days after Donna's attack, hundreds
of miles from home with his hair suddenly cut short, similar to this. Like Donna, the Doyle family resided in
Colt's neck. Former assistant prosecutor Lorie Ghart. We lived in a very nice house. Two sons, a mom and a dad. The
life of a typical Colts next teenager. It's a life of wealth. It's a life of privilege.
>> Doyle was a student athlete on wrestling and hockey teams. Detective Tazzy started digging into his background.
>> He had never been arrested. There was never any charges filed against him prior to our investigation.
According to the prosecutor's records, police had been called to the Doyle House for what they refer to as family
conflicts. The location of the home would turn out to be very important. >> Where did Brennan live?
>> So, if you make a right up here and you go up maybe a quarter of a mile on the
left. >> So, that's close. >> Yeah. >> The teen and his family lived within walking distance of Donna's house up the
very road that driver had reported seeing someone. she described as a young hitchhiker just prior to Donna's attack.
>> I'm afraid he's going to get hit by a car. >> When does the Doyle family return to
Colts neck >> later in July? >> With Brennan and his family back in town, Tazzy reached out to the family
saying investigators were canvasing the neighborhood. >> What happened when you went to the
house? >> We spoke with Mrs. Doyle. She was nervous. Her voice was cracking. And
>> did this raise an eyebrow for you? >> It did. We asked if Brennan and his brother could come and look at the
composite sketch and if they had any idea who that person might be on the sketch.
>> Did Brennan come out? >> He did. >> Tazzy says she wanted to see Brennan's hair to confirm what his cousin had told
her, that it had been cut much shorter. It seemed the teen tried to stay a step ahead when he came out to greet the
detective. >> He was wearing a hat. He was wearing a baseball hat. >> I think wearing a baseball cap was a
calculated move. >> It might have been, but it didn't work. >> You could tell his hair was cut short.
>> Next, Tazy showed Brennan the police sketch of the suspect, the same one Donna helped tweak to look just like her
attacker. >> How did he react? >> He looked away. He looked at it, looked away, and said, "I don't know. I don't
know." He was nervous and he was scared. and he got very quiet. >> There is a reaction. Eyes are down. No
eye contact. People are nervous. Mom starts redirecting the conversation. >> Doyle's family and his attorney denied
our request for an interview. We asked CBS News consultant, defense attorney Matt Troyano, to study the case file.
>> And I think that that probably confirms what they believed going in. Brennan's
odd behavior and resemblance to the sketch and video evidence may have been striking, but with nothing else to go on
yet, Tazzy thanked the Doyless for their time and left. >> Did you know that was your guy?
>> I was pretty confident that we were on the right track with him, but we also have a duty. We had other leads that
were coming in, so we were doing a lot of follow-ups. >> As investigators worked the case, Donna
was struggling. Weeks after the attack, the reality of what had happened to her had taken hold.
>> I lost everything that night. I lost my home. Had nowhere to go. I lost my car.
They took it into evidence. >> Donna, you lost more than half your blood. >> I Exactly. I lost I lost a lot.
>> Donna says that's when in addition to her physical recovery, she faced a new challenge. symptoms um of PTSD started
to show up. I'm not eating. I'm not sleeping. I don't care about anything. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm happy. I'm, you
know, every emotion under the sun at any minute. I felt like I was going crazy. I
was always thinking, I don't know who this kid is, but he climbed through the window in that second that I fell asleep
and now he's hiding in the closet. You know, kind of crazy thoughts. Sharon Sharp says Donna's fear meant even
friendly visits required a new protocol, including announcing her arrival every step of the way so as not to trigger
Donna. >> I'm going to come around the hedges now and I'm going to enter the backyard. I'm
going to be touching the gate in 3 2 1. I would shake my keys first, which had bells on them. Say, "It's me, Sharon.
I'm coming." >> The investigation lasted through the summer of 2013. Brennan Doyle remained
the only likely suspect. Detective Tazzy says investigators took the next step in
September. >> We got a warrant to obtain his DNA, his fingerprints, photographs of him, just
things that are personal to him. >> When the results came back, >> there's a fingerprint match. Then
ultimately there's a DNA match. Brennan Doyle's DNA was a spot-on match to unknown DNA found in Donna's car in a
number of places. 11 different DNA samples and pieces of evidence found in that vehicle. And
really, there's no reason why Brennan Doyle's DNA should be in this woman's vehicle. He's a stranger to her.
One more crucial piece of evidence was found in early October in the most unexpected spot.
>> Repair men were servicing an air conditioning unit that was on the top of the strip mall. They found the knife on
the the roof right near the air conditioning unit. >> A knife looking weathered as though it
had been there for months. found on a bowling alley roof in the very same shopping center where the Taco Bell was
located and where Donna's car had been abandoned. >> How important was the knife?
>> It ended up being very important because the knife was from a set. We determined
that that knife matched another knife that we knew came from the Doyle household that had been taken months
earlier. Through a twist of timing and fate, the Colts Neck police already had another knife from the Doyle home taken
after police were called to the house a few weeks prior to Donna's attack following an altercation between Brennan
and his brother. >> There's a knife that's apparently used by the younger brother in in a
threatening manner. Police are called. Police take the knife and the situation ends.
>> There was no charges or anything that came of it, but they secured the knife in their evidence vault. It was the same
brand name, the same look. It was a silver knife. >> It was from the same collection.
>> Correct. That was kind of the icing on the cake to get a search warrant. They
had moved during the course of this investigation. So, we got a search warrant for their new home.
>> The search of the new Doyle residence, also in Colts Neck, turned up the rest
of the knife set matching the one found at top the shopping center. In late October 2013,
Brennan Doyle was arrested. >> What kinds of charges was he facing? >> Serious ones. Attempted murder,
carjacking, weapons possession. These are the most serious of crimes that we have.
[Music] What do you make of the evidence against Brennan Doyle? Take a look at the
complete investigation at 48our.com. Months after Donna's brush with death, her alleged attacker, Brennan Doyle, was
in custody, facing six counts, including attempted murder and carjacking. He pleaded not guilty.
>> You have to look at the seriousness of the offense. The prosecution felt the crime warranted trying Doyle as an
adult, even though he was 16 at the time. >> And in juvenile court, Brennan is looking at four years maximum in a youth
detention facility. In adult court, he's looking at up to 30 years. >> A judge would rule in assistant
prosecutor Ghart's favor, but there was a catch. Doyle would now be entitled to post bail set at $760,000,
which he did. When you heard he was out, did all of the fear come rushing back? >> It wasn't so much fear as it was anger
that he was even allowed to be bailed out. >> The thought of running into Doyle terrified Kirsten. She says he even
haunted her dreams. >> I didn't realize how much it was affecting me. I had no idea until I was
like falling asleep and all I see is his face. >> As prosecutors develop their case, the
details of what happened that horrific night began to emerge. >> What does Brennan Doyle say happened the
night of July 6th heading into the morning of July 7th, 2013? >> Mushrooms. He says he was under the influence of a
hallucinogenic mushrooms. According to investigative reports he examined, Matt Triano says that on the
night of Donna's attack, Doyle claimed he was losing touch with reality and had gotten into a fight with his father.
>> He has a knife in his hand. Dad kicks him out and he kind of loses his mind, makes bad decisions.
>> Police thought it was likely that Doyle, who lived a short distance away, approached Donna's home looking to steal
her car. I don't know if his intent was to kill Donna. Certainly, when he started stabbing her, that became his
intent. >> To me, what he's doing is he's getting rid of the witness. >> Ghart believes Doyle did not act like
someone incapacitated by drugs. Doyle drove 5 miles to that shopping center after leaving Donna's house.
>> This kid manages to ditch a knife. He abandons the car. And that's not a kid who's so high on mushrooms, he doesn't
know what he's doing. Triano says while a lot of the evidence against Brennan Doyle was strong, the
knife, the security camera videos, one thing put this case over the top. >> What is going to seal the fate of of
this boy, this kid, is that there's DNA in her vehicle that links to him. It's indefensible.
>> But as it turned out, there would be no need for a defense. In August of 2015,
Brennan Doyle agreed to a plea deal. In return, the prosecution dropped all but the two most serious charges, carjacking
and attempted murder. >> It was very important for me that he admit his guilt. If he took the plea, he
would have to confess his guilt to the court. In October 2015, Brennan Doyle, now 18 years old, appeared in Mammoth
County Superior Court for sentencing. Donna, who'd attended every court appearance, was there to face him one
last time. >> Even though I felt overpowered by fear, I wanted him to see me as strong
and as a survivor. It was an emotional day for Kirsten there to support her mother.
>> When you would look at him in court, what do you remember feeling? >> Anger. Just very angry.
Sorry. >> The drugs turned me into the monster that night. >> Doyle was permitted to address the
court. I pray and hope her wounds will lessen and she will recover eventually. I am asking you to forgive me. Going to
prison will be the hardest thing I will ever have to face in my life. I'm afraid.
>> Brennan Doyle was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. The law requires him to
serve at least 85% of that time. Justice has to be done on both sides and we we have to be sensitive to that. We have a
16-year-old kid who for the most part had absolutely no prior history. The court has a balancing act to do.
>> Did it feel like justice? >> It did not. >> What would have felt like justice to
you? >> More like 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, if not longer. Even with Doyle off the streets, Donna
was still struggling. She had found PTSD and domestic violence support groups, but says there were none for victims of
random attacks. So, in 2015, she decided to create her own survivors of violent crimes.
>> Reason we took to the support group was to help each other cope. Donna connected
with fellow survivors Tiffany and Dana Richards. Together, they held meetings and felt gratified they could help when
more survivors joined. >> They're finding relief and knowing that they're not alone.
>> But Donna says her work isn't done. Her future plans include helping victims connect with trauma therapists and
offering self-defense classes. As she grows her support group, she's also educating others. She travels to
prisons, meeting with inmates, and addresses police cadets so they can understand the victim's point of view.
>> I got up. I made it up the stairs to my bedroom where my cell phone was, but I
got through to 911. She survives and she's building a life. How could anyone not applaud that?
>> Donna says the physical scars that remain are a reminder of the surgeons who saved her life.
>> This is artwork. They're beautiful artwork. You could either get sucked into the
darkness or you just keep going. I did what I had to do to to be here today and go another day.
[Music] A mother disappears. Evidence points to homicide. >> And she's nowhere to be found.
>> The suspect is gone, too. Leading US marshals on a relentless manhunt. >> He was using the railways to move
around, hopping trains. >> The chase is on. >> Justice is coming. >> 48 hours next on CBS and streaming on
Paramount Plus. [Music] Before we begin, just a trigger warning. The following episode does include
mentions of graphic physical violence. >> I survived a violent home invasion after
everything was said and done. Um, it was I lost in in total close to 3/4 of the blood in my body. There's no earthly
reason why I'm alive. None. There is none. As you heard, that is Donna Anakaco, who
miraculously survived a random attack in her Coltsneck, New Jersey home back in the early morning hours of July 7th,
2013. Donna lived with her 21-year-old daughter, but she was home alone that night. And after opening her front door
to let her cat back in the house, Donna then encountered an intruder attempting to cut through the screen of the window
by her front door. He proceeded to stab her multiple times on her face and in her chest before leaving with her purse
and her car keys. As Donna lay on the floor bleeding, she somehow found the strength to crawl upstairs where her
cell phone was and she called 911 while her attacker then escaped in her car. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Just stand up on me.
Okay. Where did you get stabbed? >> In the neck. Blood is gushing out and in the chest.
>> Okay. My heart. I'm pouring gushing blood of it. >> Then before briefly losing
consciousness, she was able to describe her attacker in great detail. >> He was probably about 17, white, real
skinny, curly hair, blonde, dirty blonde hair, a little bit long in the backpack. I'm
losing consciousness. Okay, just stay with me. Okay. >> Yeah, I could feel the water is just the
blood is just water. It's like water. After paramedics arrived, Donna then was rushed to the hospital. And as you heard
her say, she lost close to three quarters of the blood in her body. But thanks to Donna's detailed description
of her attacker and additional tips and DNA evidence, police identified 16-year-old Brennan Doyle as a suspect.
He was arrested nearly 4 months after stabbing Donna. And Doyle claimed he was under the influence at the time of magic
mushrooms. In 2015, Doyle pleaded guilty to attempted murder and carjacking, and
he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. And while Doyle is in prison, Donna is still struggling to recover from the
trauma of her attack. I'm Natalie Morales of 48 hours, and this is It Could Have Been Me.
[Music] Welcome, Donna. It is so good to have you here with us and thank you so much
for being willing to share your story with us. Thank you for having me. I know what you went through was so traumatic
physically, emotionally. How are you doing today? >> Um physically all of my injuries have
healed. I have some, you know, nerve damage, uh pins and needles in my left arm. Um but other than that, physically
I'm okay. you know, psychologically, um, it's I'm still working on that. Um, I can go places by myself now,
>> but do I like being in the dark, in the night, by myself? No. Still, it um is it
it is difficult for me. Your your physical scars have healed so beautifully as well. You don't see them
as much anymore, but um, as you said, the emotional trauma is still something that you live with. And um I know that
has to be so difficult to go through as you said the nighttime and the darkness because that's when the attack happened.
Um you've moved out of that house though and um I know that area of New Jersey. I
lived in New Jersey for many many years. It's a beautiful peaceful area, horse country. Something like this though, you
never expect something like this to happen in Colts Neck, New Jersey, right? >> No, never. I felt very safe there. Never
in my wildest nightmares would I would think this would happen there. >> Take me back to that night. Your
daughter Kirstston, she was out at a party. You nodded off, but then you went to open the door to let your cat back
in. What happened then? >> Right. So when I opened the door, I saw a kid standing on the porch. That's what
I zoned in on. Um, and then like a millisecond later, I saw the knife that he had and he was cutting into the
screen and the window and my response kicked into, oh, I got to shut this door, you know. So, as I was shutting
the door, he charged at the door and the knife, it stuck through just a a tiny little opening um before I could
actually shut the door and it cut my finger, the tip of my finger, and I pulled my hand off the door. You know,
that was like that was the most painful moment. U was that knife cutting the tip
of my finger >> because my body hadn't shut down yet at that point. It was just sliced into my
hand. Um so when I pulled my hand off the door, he pushed the door in and was face to face with me in my kitchen. I
could not think far enough ahead to say he's going to cut me with that knife. M >> um but sure enough he was standing just
straight in front of me and he just started slashing me. Uh my face you could see this part um here but it
actually goes all the way back here. So he just took the knife and you know slash that way and I could not
process again that he would actually cut me. So I'm holding my my face like this
and he's slashing my neck. um you know and then so now I'm like oh you know like what's you know what's happening
and he stabbed me straight into my chest >> um and still even with the sl you know
the slashes and the stabs I couldn't process that he was actually like another stab was going to come another
slash was going to come like I couldn't process that um gosh it is unreal hearing you describe all of this and
it's still so clear as day to you in your memory I can see that. I'm sure that's so hard to relive
>> that moment, the pain you were feeling in that moment. >> And as I understand, this is this is a
young man that you'd never seen him before. It's not somebody you recognized, right?
>> Right. Totally random. >> You saw though, he seemed to be young. You got a good feel for what he looked
like. I mean, you were staring at him as he's doing this to you. You wouldn't take your eyes off him.
>> Absolutely correct. Yep. Without a doubt. >> So, he's attacking you multiple times.
He stabbed you at this point. >> In that time, what's going through your head? Are your survival instincts
kicking in? >> Yes. I Well, I started to think, um, you know, I have to get that knife. Like, I
have to get it out of his hands. Um, so as I was backing away from him, um, I tried to grab the knife from him. You
know, I, you know, in my head, I'm I'm going to grab that knife and I'm going to get it away from him. But um it
literally just cut my hand open. I ended up on the floor um you know when he came
over to me on the floor. He asked me um for my car keys and for a lighter. So I directed him to that to my purse and uh
he went through my purse and got what he needed. And and I know that you were wanting to figure out get get to your
cell phone, right? That was part of the whole thinking at that moment. Yeah, my cell phone was upstairs once he left
with the car keys, the lighter. That was your opportunity. You had to get upstairs.
How'd you do that? I mean, in the condition you were in. I have no idea. I have no idea. I always say that there
was definitely divine intervention that helped me get up and get up the stairs. And I feel like I floated up those
stairs um and to my phone. >> Almost like an out-of- body experience really. >> Yes. Yes, absolutely.
>> And I know part of your motivation was your daughter. She was out, but you knew
she would come back. You knew she would find you. I could just imagine Kirsten coming in, you know, walking in through
that door and finding me laying there. Um, and that couldn't happen. That just um
wasn't something I was prepared to let happen. You got to your phone yet incredibly you were still with it enough
to look outside and notice that your attacker was still there in the car. So you had to be really careful once you
got your phone, right? What did you do? >> Yes. I I picked up my phone and it was
still on the um attached to the cord and I you know I knew that if I unplugged the cord from it, you know, it was going
to light up and he would see like that light um in the dark. And I was so terrified that he was going to see that
and he was going to come back in. And so I kind of just, you know, slunk down to
the floor with it and tried to be as careful as I could. Um, and it was hard just trying to swipe on
the phone just to unlock it. Um, because I had so much blood on my hands. Finally, I just wiped it off, wiped it
off on the side of the bed and, uh, was able to dial 911. >> Do you remember that call at all now?
>> I remember feeling so panicked, just just desperate, and trying to get all of the right information out, all
the right words out. After the criminal trial was done, I went back to uh the prosecutor's office and I asked them if
I could hear my 911 call um because I wanted to make sure like did I actually speak clearly? Did I actually give them
all this information like they said I did? And um that was really empowering for me to go back years later and and
hear that recording. >> You you give me goosebumps, you know, just imagining you hearing that for the
first time after having gone through what she went through. Um you made it out of that house. Incredible. And then
you had to undergo 7 hours of surgery. Um when you're in the hospital, is it true that you were worried that your
attacker might come back for you? >> Oh yeah, without a doubt. Um, you know, in every scary movie that you see or
every, you know, type of slasher movie like that, you see, the killer comes back dressed as a doctor, dressed as a
nurse, or they slip in and um, you know, as an orderly or something like that. >> But they, I kept telling them, you know,
like like, is there a guard out, you know, asking them, is there a guard outside my door? Um, you know, and they
kept trying to assure me that it was a secure floor. Um, I was under an alias. Nobody was getting on on this floor into
my room unless uh they knew my alias. >> Yeah. Absolutely terrified. >> Your alias was Sarah Reese. Yeah. It was
shocking actually to see that on my wristband. I I know you describe feeling like you almost lost your identity
because the attack it's like it took so much away from you. I completely do not identify with who I was pre-attack.
there. I feel like there is not a stitch of me left from, you know, before the attack.
>> You're a different person now. >> Totally different person. And I'm uh still trying to figure out uh who that
is. >> It's obviously a work in progress, but you're so strong and and you see you're
such a survivor. Um I know your friend Sharon Sharp was was really important to helping you go through your recovery.
She described seeing you in the hospital there those very first few days and the
stab wounds and you know how much blood even was in your hair at that moment and
and she talked about that. Let's take a listen here. Her beautiful long hair was
just caked. I mean caked. It was almost like it was almost like a thing you could pick up in blood and all she'd say
was, "I want my hair washed. I want my hair washed." Everybody could smell it. You couldn't
not smell it. It was horrible. It was horrible. >> And I love that in that moment, your
friends saw what you needed and they took action. They washed your hair. They tried to be strong for you when you
needed that. Um the washing of the blood out of my hair. Uh that for me was so it
was almost ceremonial. Um, that was a lingering ick factor for me was that smell, that
smell of blood. I just couldn't shake it. Well, it it was it was just 4 days later that you were able to leave the
hospital. And I mean, I think you had something like 37 stitches, am I right? And 38 staples throughout your body.
>> Yeah. I think they would have kept me there longer, but every day I was like,
I'm ready to go. I have to leave. I did not feel safe there at all. >> And of course, you didn't feel safe
going back to the house. So, you didn't go back there. Where did you end up going?
>> Yeah. So, I ended up going back to my parents house. So, it was my mother and
my father um and a brother that lived there and my sister lived there at the time with her three children. So, there
was no room at at the inn for me. >> Um so, they ended up just uh kind of putting me in my niece's room. It was
chaos. Well, and and I know you were concerned because your attacker was still out there and it would take four
months before 16-year-old Brennan Doyle was then arrested and you know your attacker, we said he was young. What was
your reaction though when you heard I mean he was just 16 years old. I mean I stood face to face with him so I saw him
and I knew he was young. I didn't realize he was that young. Um, and kind of shocked because I was in
really good shape physically. And if you said a 16-year-old was going to, you know, force away into your house and
attack you, I would have said absolutely not. That is not going to happen. I was
in the best shape of my life. Um, there was no way >> that that was going to happen. But, uh,
fight, flight, or freeze. And I froze. >> Yeah. And he was then charged as an adult. Mhm.
>> When you heard what Brennan Doyle was alleging, he said it was magic mushrooms
that possessed him to do what he did to you. What did you make of that? >> Yeah, I thought that was just um a
copout. He seemed very present and very sure of what he was doing. So, I don't buy the whole um hallucinogenic
story. Did you see him in court? >> Yes, I went to every single court appearance there were throughout the um
the two years between the time the attack and then the actual trial in 2015. I went to every single appearance
even if it was just like a 10-minute like this is what's happening thing because I wanted him to see me. I wanted
him to know that I was alive and um and and I was showing up, you know. >> And he pleaded guilty to attempted
murder and carjacking. That was in 2015, then sentenced to 15 years in prison. What was your reaction when you heard
that sentence? >> If we were to go to trial, I was told that he can maintain his innocence and
there would be no guarantee of him of the amount of time that he would get. um if we went to trial, he could get
four years, he could get, you know, 7 years, what have you, but if he takes a plea deal, they told me he has to admit
his guilt to the court. So, when they said he's going to take a plea deal for uh 15 years,
I I wanted that as opposed to taking a chance that he could get four years and maintain his innocence.
>> Mhm. So, the there was a a civil award after the criminal trial uh where I was
awarded $5 million. I have not seen any money from that. >> He could be coming out soon, you know,
in a couple of years. Have you come to the terms with the fact that he might be released?
>> I have not come to terms with that. I am I have to work on that. I feel like he's
not going to come out and come after me, but you know, you never know. There's there's that little part of me
that you're not going to convince that he he doesn't want to hurt or harm me. [Music]
You know, I it's it's hard to even ask the question, but what does closure look like for you? I mean, especially when
you talk about this was such a random act of violence. >> Yeah. you know, um, hindsight is 2020, so looking back on
how I came out of the hospital and everything was so chaotic and everybody was so traumatized, nobody knew what to
do. Looking back now, um, had I been received into an environment that had created a safe environment for
me, that is what I needed. Like I needed that foundation. I still need it. The foundation of safety. I have to figure
out, can I live in a standalone house by myself >> or do I have to always live in a an
apartment with other people around or a condo or, you know, something with other
people around, >> you know? And I think what what you're doing now is so remarkable because
you're trying to help people understand >> what it means to be a victim of a random
attack and and the emotions, you know, the the post-traumatic stress that goes along with all of that when it comes to
healing. Yeah. Uh well, when well, first of all, I didn't think maybe the first couple days when I was
out of the hospital, I didn't think that I had post-traumatic stress. Like, I didn't I was just like, you know, this
is a hor, you know, a violent, horrible thing. And um I'm going to calm down and
things will be okay. I followed the steps of like what I was supposed to do, followed doctor's orders and things like
that. It wasn't until things started happening to me that um it really set in like the nightmares and the not sleeping
and um I couldn't be around people and the isolating and the >> um the emotions up and down like I could
be sitting here um just like this and all of a sudden I wouldn't be crying but tears would be pouring out of me.
>> I had all this tra trauma inside me and it had to be released somehow. Right.
And Donna, what what are you doing now to help you know get through this? I mean, it's still it seems like it's very
emotionally traumatic still to this day. >> Yes. So, I still am in therapy. Um, I
was on anti-anxiety medications. I was on medication. Whatever the the doctors thought that I
should be on, I I followed their protocol. Um I also uh started to do yoga and meditation and aroma therapy.
Anything calming, mind, body, soul type calming things. >> To help you heal though, I know that you
created a support group specifically focused on victims of random attacks. Why was that important to you?
>> You know, nobody could put together the the that random act. nobody could put
together that I was alone in the night in the dark and barely escaped death. I knew I needed to talk to somebody else
and um hear their experience. I guess more for hope, right? Let me I want to hear from somebody who who got to the
other side of this who survived it and is doing well and is thriving and you know has all these ways of coping. So, I
just wanted with the support group, I wanted to be able to be a safe place for somebody else to tell their story.
>> Um, you know, hold space for somebody else. >> I I heard you saying that you have the
same job and that you had before the attack that they've been very supportive and helpful.
>> Yes. Yeah. Thank you so much for pointing that out because um having my job to go back to and having a purpose
to get up and get out of bed and um go to work every day that was so important. It's the one thing that has not changed
since the attack. It's the one constant. And what do you want people to know about victims of random attacks? How do
we talk to people who've gone through what you've gone through in a way that doesn't also, you know, become
triggering? I think you really have to meet people where they are and in hearing somebody talk about whatever
they're experiencing or whatever they're going through. You don't have to fix it.
You you don't have to offer advice. Just listen, you know, just just let let them
release that. um without judgment. >> Um I know before the attack you competed in tough mutters and you know you as you
said you were in the best shape of your life back then. Um I think though what got you through this is you're the
toughest mother. I'm amazed again how you got up those stairs, you called 911, you gave that
description and really all came from a place of love knowing that you needed to protect your daughter. Um, how are you
and and Kirsten doing today? Yeah, she's doing well. Um, she's building a life um
of her own with her husband. There's still that uh there's like a wedge there from the attack. I feel like I'm there's
always something in my everyday life. that relates to the attack or something from the attack and I feel like I I
don't want to put that on her because that then >> causes her to think about it and then
you know so there's a wedge there where I kind of try to protect her from my stuff and she kind of tries to protect
me from any of her stuff and it's not the healthiest thing but um we're going to get through it.
>> I know you will and and I know it has to be so hard. I mean, you both have been
through so much. So, it's it's understandable how, you know, in trying to protect one another, you end up
sometimes putting, you know, blocks in the way in the path of allowing you to have, you know, a really open and honest
conversation. >> But you'll get there. You'll get there because the work you're doing is amazing
and >> sharing your story, helping others is helping you. And I can see that. So,
Donna, you're you're incredible, and it's such a privilege to get to know you, and I know it wasn't easy having a
conversation again about what happened to you, but we so appreciate you sharing it because perhaps in in helping us
understand how best to talk to victims of random attacks, you're creating an opportunity as well to let us just
understand people going through traumatic experiences as a whole. >> Thank you so much.
We want to thank you for listening to It Could Have Been Me. I'm Natalie Morales
and you can always find your latest podcast in the 48 hours podcast feed. It's free on the Odyssey app or wherever
you get your podcasts. [Music]

After being stabbed in a random attack in her New Jersey home, Donna Ongsiako says there is no earthly reason why she should be alive. While losing massive amounts of blood, she was able to call 911 and describe her attacker in great detail. "48 Hours" correspondent Natalie Morales spoke with Donna about how she continues to cope with the trauma of her attack and how best to support victims as they recover.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Donna Anakaco survived a brutal home invasion in 2013, leading to the arrest of her attacker, Brennan Doyle, and her journey of recovery.

Key points

A Violent Home Invasion. In July 2013, a quiet community was shaken by a brutal home invasion where the victim, Donna, was stabbed repeatedly but survived against all odds.
A Mother's Instinct. Despite her severe injuries, Donna's primary concern was her daughter finding her in a horrific state.
The Attacker's Identity. Just days after the attack, a tip about a suspect named Brennan Doyle emerged, leading to a significant breakthrough in the case.
Donna's Struggle with PTSD. Donna shares her ongoing battle with PTSD after the attack.
Brennan Doyle's Arrest. Brennan Doyle was arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene.
Brennan's Plea Deal. Brennan Doyle accepted a plea deal, reducing his charges to attempted murder and carjacking.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

There's no earthly reason why I'm alive.

Donna reflects on her survival after the attack.

5:19WatchJul 25, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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