A man who tried to kill the mother of his unborn child has been sentenced to spend the next 70 years in prison.
Dakota Brothers strangled and stabbed Samuela Wolfe in 2016 on a path near the Crossway Community Montessori School in Kensington, Maryland. Wolfe was 19 years old and six months pregnant at the time.
Two school teachers nearby heard Wolfe scream and ran to help, likely saving her life and the life of her unborn baby.
"A woman has been severely hurt. She was attacked. She’s bleeding," one of the women told the 911 dispatcher.
Police arrested Brothers a short time later and he confessed to strangling and repeatedly stabbing Wolfe. He told police he did it because he wasn't ready to be a father.
Brothers was 18 years old at the time of the attack. If he serves his entire sentence, he will be 90 years old before he gets out of prison.
The attack left Wolfe, now 21, with limited use of her left arm and her daughter Ava suffers from cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder.
Maryland State's Attorney John McCarthy praised Wolfe's bravery in court Friday.
“We tried to provide victim services and support to her and encouraged her to come forward. And it took enormous amount of strength and courage for a young woman like her to do that and we salute her for doing that,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the case was the third one he has seen in recent years of a soon-to-be father attacking a pregnant woman.
“If you are pregnant and you die during the course of your pregnancy in the state of Maryland, in 20 percent of cases the reason for your death is homicide,” he said.
Brothers could spend several years at a mental facility before being transferred to a state prison.
