November 5, 2006
Ball Ground, Georgia
A single mother of 3 is beaten, stabbed, and raped in front of her 7-year-old daughter before she stabs her attacker to death

The attacker was Gerald A. Lee, an acquaintance of the victim. The two had gone to high school together around 20 years before but lost touch, reconnecting just weeks before the attack. After reconnecting, Lee stated his interest in a romantic relationship with the victim, which she rejected. Lee became obsessed with her and began to stalk her according to the Discovery program Surviving Evil.

On November 5, Lee broke a window in the kitchen to unlock the door and held a rifle to the woman’s head. When it jammed, he beat her with it. He also stabbed her at least 25 times, poured boiling water on her, and raped her; most of the attack was witnessed by the woman’s 7-year-old daughter.

Lee placed the daughter in a closet. When she moved from the closet into a bathroom, Lee, naked and covered in blood, instructed her not to leave. He then returned to the mother and told her to call the daughter so he could rape and murder her in front of the woman. Instead, she played dead. As Lee went to go upstairs to get the child, the woman grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the chest before telling her daughter to lock herself in a bedroom and only open the door when police arrived. The struggle continued with Lee being stabbed several more times until he stumbled out into the yard and died.

The mother underwent surgery and was last reported to be in critical but stable condition. Her daughter was not physically harmed. The victims names have been withheld as neither the mother nor the daughter were killed, and the crime involved a sexual assault.

Warning: the following images are graphic

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The victim shortly after the attack

The victim a week after the attack

Edited April 15, 2022 to add information concerning the attacker’s stalking behaviors. Thanks to reader Rayan for the additional info!