PORTAGE, Mich.-- A woman stabbed multiple times inside her home in Portage spoke to FOX 17 on Wednesday about the attack, and her recovery. Victoria Enos says she is just thankful to be alive. She has been through a lot: stabbed over and over again in her own home, fighting for her life while her kids were asleep. Despite remembering nearly every horrific detail from that night, she is still able to smile.
"Everything is going to be okay," said stabbing victim Victoria Enos. "The future is going to be good."
Enos' future was put into question last week. Around 12:30 Thursday morning, Enos says she went to get a glass of water from her kitchen when she was attacked. She recalls everything that happened that night.
“I pretty much remember everything; it seems like it went so fast," said Enos. "I went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water and noticed some flickering lights like a flashlight and I thought my kids should be sleeping they shouldn’t be out there, so I yelled 'What’s going on out there?' And no answer. I flicked on the kitchen light and the kid turned his back towards me so all I could see was his brown hair and his grey-colored shirt and dark pants and then the next thing I knew he did some sort of crazy thing with his hands like and I froze I’m thinking somebody’s on drugs in my kitchen. Then he just attacked me. I didn’t know he was stabbing me at first but once I figured out that he was stabbing me I tried to get the knife away from him. He was really strong and it was a struggle."
Enos struggled to protect herself and get the knife away from her attacker, while pleading for her life at the same time.
"I said 'Please I have kids!' He went out the back door and I locked it as soon as he went out there and I went to my kitchen phone to call the police and it wasn’t working," said Enos. "I picked it up and it wasn’t a dial tone, it was a ringing sound like it was already calling somebody. It was weird, so I hung it up and went to my bedroom to get my cellphone. I turned on my son’s bedroom light and I yelled at him because I needed help and he was just waking up and was all groggy and didn’t know what was going on so all I could do was concentrate really hard on getting my cellphone to get the right pattern and push the phone button. It was a whole process of just concentrating to call 911. It seemed like calling 911 would be so easy, but it wasn’t this time.”
Enos managed to contact the police and explain to them what had just happened.
“I told them my name and my address and that I was stabbed," said Enos. "I grabbed my pajamas around my arm to try and stop the bleeding because it was squirting out of my arm and then I was just holding it waiting for the emergency responders to come. They came, they flashed the light in my eyes and told me to stay with them. I remember them getting me into the ambulance and I remember getting out of the ambulance and saw the hospital staff waiting for me. That’s the last thing I remember before I woke up all stitched up with staples and everything.”
The man inside of Enos' home was 19-year-old Brandon Luevano. Enos says she recognized Luevano as a friend of her daughters.
“My daughter said that he wanted to come over and spend time with her," said Enos. "She said yes at first, but she thought he was going to be there earlier in the day and he came later on at night. He texted her or called her or something and she told him to just go home because she’s tired and everybody’s sleeping and she didn’t want him over this late at night. She wasn’t going to let him in the house, so I think he just came in through the back sliding door because it was unlocked. He just disregarded what my daughter told him and just did whatever he wanted instead.”
Luevano grabbed a butcher knife from a knife block in the kitchen and stabbed Enos in the torso numerous times, cut an artery in her arm and knocked out a front tooth.
"I didn’t know what to think I just froze," said Enos. "I just tried to get the knife from him. I was just trying to fight for my life. I really was fighting for my life; I could’ve died. If I made it to the hospital just a little later, I could’ve died and wouldn’t be here talking to you.”
Though the moment seemed to go by in the blink of an eye and her mind was blank, Enos says she was thinking about her three children.
“I’m thinking I have to be here for my kids, they need me," said Enos. "They are just teenagers. I want to have grand kids someday. Of course I pleaded because I have kids. I don’t know if that would appeal to him or not, but that’s all I could think.”
Not home at the time of the attack was husband, Richard Enos. Victoria had filed a personal protection order against her husband in March, but says he is aware of what happened last week.
“My husband is very upset about this" said Enos. "He wishes he could be the one taking care of me, but I want him to be able to take care of himself first. He has his own problems and I want him to be able to take care of himself first and then maybe we can talk. We love each other, but we just can’t be together right now. I just don’t want to be abused.”
Enos says she is focused on getting better now while staying at a friend's home outside of Detroit. She is looking forward to spending time with her family and justice being served.
“I hope that he pays for what he did" said Enos. "I hope he learns that this is wrong and he can’t just do something like this to somebody. He is just a kid. I don’t understand how a kid could be so violent at such a young age. I just don’t understand that, but I hope the kid gets help. I think he should pay consequences for his actions. I think that’s how my family feels too.”
Healing physically will take some time, but Enos is optimistic for a full recovery.
“It’ll take a while to heal, but I know I can do it," said Enos. "I have faith that everything’s going to be good. There will probably be rehabilitation for my arm, but I’m doing some exercises they gave me at the hospital and am doing some things with my hand. My arm is still painful, even with the medicine, but I don’t want to take the medicine too much because you know how that is, so I try not to take it.”
Through the pain, Enos is still able to put a smile on her face.
“I’m just very thankful to everybody for helping me be here to have a future with my friends and family," said Enos. "I’m very, very lucky and happy about that.”
Luevano was arraigned in Kalamazoo County District Court on Wednesday and is charged with first degree home invasion, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and two counts of motor vehicle theft. He is currently in Kalamazoo County Jail, a preliminary examination scheduled for May 31.
