The surviving victim of Tuesday’s fatal machete attack at the Hotel Jermyn Apartments in Scranton is stable and able to speak after multiple surgeries but still faces a long recovery, her daughter said late Thursday.
Marilyn Joan Waller, 66, a 12-year resident of the apartment building at 326 Biden St., suffered a severe chest wound and had her hand nearly severed in the attack that killed two of her neighbors: Linda P. Fortuna, 61, and Terry M. Muller, 59. Muller’s service dog, a roughly 18-month-old golden retriever named Nayla, was also killed.
Marissa Dankulich, left, pictured here with her mom, Marilyn Joan Waller, said Waller faces a long recovery after suffering serious wounds in a Tuesday machete attack at the Hotel Jermyn Apartments in Scranton. The attacker killed two other women and a service dog, police said. (Photo Courtesy of Marissa Dankulich)
Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher released Thursday the names of the victims amid an ongoing criminal investigation into the brutal attack. The accused perpetrator, Michael Willie Marquis Woods, 38, remains jailed without bail on criminal homicide and other charges.
“My mom, Marilyn Waller, is a vibrant, loving person who brings joy to everyone around her,” Waller’s daughter, Marissa Dankulich, wrote in a GoFundMe launched to support her family as they assist with Waller’s recovery. “She loves playing video games, going to wrestling shows, exploring thrift stores, and spending time with her beloved cat, Bubbles. Her unique spirit and kindness have touched many lives, and she means the world to me and our family.”
Marilyn Joan Waller, left, is pictured here with her daughter, Marissa Dankulich, and her son-in-law, Brian Dankulich. (Photo Courtesy of Marissa Dankulich)
Dankulich, Waller’s only child, said she and her husband will have to miss work as they take her mom to appointments and otherwise provide support during her convalescence. The GoFundMe had raised nearly $2,900 as of late Friday morning.
Woods, who told police he smoked the hallucinogenic drug PCP prior to Tuesday’s attack, lived on the sixth floor of the apartment building, as did his victims. Investigators who reviewed surveillance footage that captured the violence said he attacked Waller with a machete when she opened her apartment door. He had already mortally wounded Fortuna and Muller, who were later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to charging documents.
Officers responding to the building Tuesday night found Woods covered in blood holding the machete near Biden Street and Wyoming Avenue and took him into custody. Gallagher said Thursday that investigators were still waiting on the results of a laboratory analysis of what, if anything, was in Woods’ system at the time of the attack.
A neighbor and fellow resident of the Hotel Jermyn Apartments, Paula Taylor, described all three victims as “beautiful people” in an interview Thursday afternoon.
Woods faces two counts of criminal homicide, as well as counts of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated cruelty to animals for killing Nayla, the service dog.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 23.