A Tennessee mother is fighting for her life after she was rescued by bystanders when her husband allegedly stabbed and set her on fire.
Tessa Mowel was saved by two Good Samaritans on Monday when they found her ablaze and suffering from multiple stab wounds inside her home in Dickson.
Her husband, 28-year-old Zachary Mowel, is accused of attacking Tessa, dousing her with gasoline and then setting their home on the 1200 block of North Charlotte Street on fire, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Tessa told her family the painful details of the attack from her hospital bed and said her two children witnessed the attack.
'This all happened with their 5-year-old and 8-year-old boys watching and pleading for their dad to not kill their mom,' Tessa's twin sister Tori Ila Elizabeth Trotter said in a GoFundMe for her recovery.
Tessa Mowel was saved by two bystanders when they found her ablaze and suffering from multiple stab wounds inside her home
Tessa has nine stab wounds, all her ribs are broken, collapsed lung, her entire right leg has severe third degree burns and she is paralyzed from the waist down
The family claimed Zachary stabbed Tessa in the back with a kitchen knife, then slashed her eight times in the neck, chest and back while brutally hitting her face over 30 times.
Tessa has nine stab wounds, all her ribs are broken, collapsed lung, her entire right leg has severe third degree burns and she is paralyzed from the waist down.
'The boys were sitting right there, my grandsons, and he grabbed her arm and stabbed her,' her mother Tina Trotter told WSMV.
'She told Jackson, her oldest child, to go call 911, and he wouldn't let him do it.'
Two strangers from Alabama happened to be driving by to check out a Facebook Marketplace item in the area when they saw smoke coming out of the house.
Her husband, 28-year-old Zachary Mowel (pictured), has been charged with attempted murder, domestic assault and attempted arson for the attack
Court documents said Zachary returned to the scene on 1200 block of North Charlotte Street (pictured) and approached one of the officers at the scene and said, 'I did it. It was me'
'God bless you, and I will reach out to you once my family finds out who you are. Our family is so grateful for y'all because I wouldn't have her today,' Tina said.
Zachary allegedly returned to the house as firefighters put on the blaze and confessed to the crime.
According to court documents viewed by WKRN, the 28-year-old approached one of the officers at the scene and said, 'I did it. It was me.'
He was charged with Attempted First Degree Murder, Aggravated Arson, Aggravated Assault (Domestic-Related) and Domestic Assault and is being held at the Dickson County Jail on $765,000 bond.
The attack has shocked the family with her twin sister claiming Tessa was looking to divorce her husband.
Tessa told her family the painful details of the attack from her hospital bed and said her two children witnessed the attack
In the most recent health update provided her twin sister Tori, Tessa is hoping to be moved to a Trauma step-down room and out of the ICU so she will be able to see her children
'He's never been physical with her. He's been emotionally abusive towards her,' Tori said.
'She actually asked for a divorce back in May. She actually called a lawyer that morning and had an appointment set up, and none of us expected this, not this.'
In the most recent health update provided by Tori, Tessa is hoping to be moved to a Trauma step-down room and out of the ICU so she will be able to see her children.
'She can move her left leg some but she has no feeling in it. Her right leg is completely paralyzed and also her waist,' Tori said.
'Next week she will get more skin grafts on her leg. She's improving well. She just misses her boys so much and hates having to be up there by herself most of the time.'
