An Ontario teenager was brutally attacked by her vicious ex-boyfriend, who hit her with his truck and tried to “cut her head off” with a sword.
Kaylie Smith, 16, was getting off a bus after work on a quiet street when her ex-boyfriend, Phillipe Rivard-Gagnon, 18, allegedly hit her with his car on November 3.
He then went after her with a machete, police said.
Kaylie’s cousin, Paige Smith, described the horrific alleged assault on The Sudbury Star: ‘He used his vehicle to pin her against the rocks so he could get out and mutilate her.
“He was trying to cut off her head. The wounds – they walk you through them and tell you a story. She was fighting. She fought him after being hit by a car.
TO GoFundMe Paige turned to Kaylie and claims her ex cut off her left hand and tore her right arm to the point where it was “in tatters.”
He then allegedly cut off her head and body with the sword before “fleeing, leaving her to die.”
Ontario Provincial Police told The Sudbury Star they responded to a car accident around 6 p.m. and found Kaylie with life-threatening injuries at the scene after an “altercation” with someone.
Kaylie Smith, 16, was allegedly attacked by her estranged ex-boyfriend on Nov. 3, leaving her with serious injuries.
Kaylie’s family said her right arm was practically shattered and Phillipe Rivard-Gagnon was trying to ‘mutilate’ her.
Kaylie was rushed to nearby Temiskaming Hospital before being airlifted to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Rivard-Gagnon was arrested that night after his mother turned him over to the police, the National Mail reported.
He was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes and breach of suspended sentence.
The latest charge stems from the estranged ex-boyfriend assaulting Kaylie’s stepfather in May and being sentenced to house arrest and other restrictions, which he allegedly violated by going out to hurt Kaylie.
Paige wrote on GoFundMe that her beloved cousin made it through a 16-hour brain surgery. He has cuts all over his body, including his shoulders and back.
Paige told The Sudbury Star: ‘He didn’t hit her once or twice with a machete. He mutilated her.
‘Kaylie is incredibly strong and resilient. The amount of trauma he went through is mind-blowing.
“Even the doctors here are amazed by his strength.”
Kaylie was returning home from work when her attacker struck, sending shockwaves through her “quiet” community.
Kaylie’s mother, Cindy Smith, has described the past few weeks as “a blur.”
Community members gathered to host a candlelight vigil in honor of Kaylie
Considering the severity of her injuries, Kaylie’s family members and healthcare providers are stunned by her strength during her grueling recovery.
‘The fact that she is already trying to move leaves them speechless. She is fighting sleep. She wants to be awake. “He wants to talk,” Paige added.
Paige also said it was a “miracle” that Rivard-Gagnon missed her spinal cord, face and vital organs.
Kaylie’s mother, Cindy Smith, is relieved that her daughter is in stable condition.
‘It’s like a big blur. “It doesn’t seem real,” he said. CBC. ‘One moment we are living life and the next minute we are here in the hospital, fighting for his life. I just don’t understand it.’
Kaylie has been heavily sedated, but doctors have periodically woken her up “to maintain her brain activity,” Paige told The Sudbury Star. But she still can’t be fully awakened because she’s too weak.
Paige added, “She opened her eyes and recognized her mom and sister, and she knows the family is here, but she’s still intubated, so she can’t talk.”
‘We are waiting for the tube to come out. “It’s day by day, surgery after surgery, trying to rebuild it.”
Kaylie’s community has spoken out on her behalf against the abuse she suffered, demanding justice and that Rivard-Gagnon not be offered bail.
About two dozen protesters gathered outside the Haileybury courthouse Tuesday morning, holding signs that read “Justice for Kaylie” and “No bail” just before Rivard-Gagnon’s hearing.
The hearing was postponed for two weeks, at the request of Rivard-Gagnon’s lawyer.
The alleged attempted murderer came to the courtroom virtually from his North Bay jail cell, CTV News reported.
One of the protesters, Kessie Pellerin, told the outlet: “We’re f—ing terrified.”
Kaylie’s GoFundMe has received over $100,000 in donations to support her long recovery
People gather not only at the vigil, but also in front of the courthouse as Rivard-Gagnon holds his hearing.
‘This is usually a quiet town and nothing like this usually happens. That never happens at Temiskaming Shores.
‘Domestic violence is no joke. Going through something like that, her whole life has changed, and that breaks my heart,” another protester, Kaylee Kennedy, told CBC. “She will never be the same.”
In another community effort, a candlelight vigil was held over the weekend to pray for Kaylie’s recovery and for justice.
So far, their GoFundMe has raised more than $100,000.
This tragic case comes after a Florida teenager shot and killed her boyfriend in August.
Jamalyse Alvarez, 16, was arrested without incident more than a week after she shot and killed her boyfriend, David Anthony Vargas Acker, also 16, around 1 a.m. on July 30.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies said David brought the gun and the couple and their friend were pointing and posing with the revolver.
During the ‘gun play,’ Alvarez allegedly pointed the gun at her boyfriend before pulling the trigger and killing him.