A Florida woman has died days after she was attacked with a hatchet by a man she let stay in her St. Petersburg home, according to deputies.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said 56-year-old Lisa Rogers Eaton was finally pronounced dead at Bayfront Hospital at 11:04 p.m. Saturday.
40-year-old Michel Dougherty was initially charged with one felony count of Attempted Second Degree Murder. His charge has been upgraded to second-degree murder.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies had responded Tuesday at around 10:30 a.m. to an attempted murder.
Deputies located the woman with a hatchet protruding from her head. She was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Dougherty had fled the scene of the attack before deputies arrived. Detectives found his vehicle later that day in Gainesville, Florida.
Doughtery was staying with Rogers Eaton and her husband after he lost his job, an act of goodwill on the couple’s part.
And just before 3 a.m. on Thursday, Dougherty was pulled over by an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputy and taken into custody. He was then transported to the Alachua County Jail.
Dougherty will be transported to the Pinellas County Jail at a later date, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said. The incident remains an active investigation.
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