Federal Way community rallies to help woman stabbed in domestic violence attack start over

GoFundMe set up to help family with moving costs, storage fees during the housing transition.

A Federal Way woman is recovering after her husband was charged with attempted murder for stabbing her eight times in their home, causing life-threatening injuries.

In an outpouring of support, the community has banded together to help the woman and her adult daughter to start over, who both escaped from the apartment after the attack.

The victim, 40-year-old Allison Taylor, told the Mirror the last thing she remembered after her husband attacked her was losing conciousness while laying in the ambulance.

“I thought I was going to die,” she said during a phone interview from her hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center, where she is still in the intensive care unit in serious condition. She cried, “When I woke up, it was Monday morning.”

The incident happened the morning of Sunday, Oct. 7, when she called police to report she had been stabbed several times in her eye, chest and throughout her stomach, according to the Federal Way police report.

Police arrived on scene and arrested her 37-year-old husband, Marquee Jerome Taylor, whose hands, legs and clothes were covered in blood.

“I’m right here, I did it,” Marquee Taylor told police, according to the report. He later said, “I lost control of my emotions. I blacked out.”

Police also saw pools of blood along the concrete walkway leading from the victim’s apartment unit to where she escaped to her neighbor’s unit.

An investigation revealed that Marquee Taylor allegedly stabbed his wife eight or nine times during an argument. Witnesses reported hearing banging noises and the woman screaming during the attack.

The couple’s 23-year-old daughter told police she heard her parents arguing and went into the kitchen and saw her father holding a kitchen knife and he appeared upset, according to the King County Superior Court charging documents. She observed him stab her mother several times, while her mother held her hands up to defend herself against the attack.

“I just wanted to get out of the house but he wouldn’t let us out,” Allison Taylor told the Mirror. “I tried to get in between him and my daughter, who has special needs.”

Her daughter left the apartment to run to the neighbor’s for help, and when she returned the front door was locked and her father would not allow her back inside. She could hear her mother yelling through the door, the documents continue.

The woman was finally able to escape and they both ran to the neighbor’s unit to call for help.

“He was sick and not treating his addiction at all,” Allison Taylor told the Mirror, noting that her husband was addicted to drugs and that she was on the phone with his designated mental health professional trying to get him into treatment just before he attacked her. “This is a wake-up call for people who live with someone with an addiction.”

A search warrant was executed and police found blood throughout the couple’s apartment unit in the foyer, master bedroom, hallway and kitchen. They also retrieved four knives that were found throughout the unit, which all tested positive for suspected blood, the documents continue.

Marquee Taylor was charged with second-degree attempted murder and unlawful imprisonment – domestic violence on Oct. 10 in King County Superior Court. His bail was set at $500,000 due to his prior domestic violence history with a different victim. This includes a 2015 Pierce County case in which he cut the victim’s hand with a knife and threw bleach at her.

According to a GoFundMe campaign created on Oct. 11 for the mother and daughter, Allison Taylor “is expected to make a full recovery.”

The campaign seeks to raise $10,000, $5,456 of which has already been raised during the first day.

“While Allison is working on getting physically healthy, she is also focused on what comes next,” according to the campaign, which includes graphic photos of the woman’s injuries. “Allison and Sam will not be returning to the apartment where this horrific attack occurred — they will be starting over.”

So far, nearly 90 people have donated to the campaign, including local elected officials.

“I was saddened when I heard the news of this vicious attack on Allison,” said Mayor Jim Ferrell in a statement. “Allison is a personal friend of mine and someone who deeply cares about the Federal Way community. This is incident puts a face on the issue of domestic violence in our community and underscores the fact we need to continue to work hard toward promoting prevention and victim safety. My thoughts and prayers go out to Alison and her daughter as they work to heal both physically and emotionally from this traumatic incident.”

The funds will help the mother and daughter with moving costs, storage fees during the housing transition, replacing items that were damaged/blood spattered in the struggle or those items that are too emotionally tied to the attack to be reused and other expenses related to a long hospital stay.

Surplus funds will be donated to DAWN, an organization that protects women and children in South King County from domestic abuse by providing shelter, support and empowerment so they can build secure and happy lives.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that a woman is killed by a spouse, ex-spouse or dating partner every 14 hours in America, according to DAWN.

Several people who donated to the campaign responded with words of encouragement to the family, as well as spoke out against domestic violence.

“Allison and Sam need a place that’s safe to heal,” wrote one donor. “I hope the SOB who did this gets mucho time in prison to reflect on this. To the men I say, if you are not part of the solution of violence toward women, you are part of the problem. Speak up!”

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/move-allison-and-sam.

A Federal Way woman sustained many injuries during the violent domestic violence attack, including to her eye, stomach and chest. Courtesy photo

A Federal Way woman sustained many injuries during the violent domestic violence attack, including to her eye, stomach and chest. Courtesy photo