A judge has dismissed attempted murder charges against the Arizona student who nearly killed a classmate with an unprovoked knife attack in front of shocked students.
Kaci Sloan faced multiple charges after launching herself at 19-year-old Mara Daffron when the pair arrived for class at ASU’s West Valley campus on September 19.
The ‘bubbly’ student required emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen and injuries to her chest and arm after Sloan stabbed her twice in a premeditated attack before being dragged away from her target by fellow students.
Two charges were dismissed at a court hearing on Monday, leaving Sloan facing the lesser charges of aggravated assault, carrying a prison sentence of between two and nine years.
‘We are beside ourselves!’ Mara’s devastated mother told Dailymail.com.
“So the only way there would be justice is if my daughter had actually died?”
Mara Daffron, 19, was stabbed repeatedly as she walked into her ASU classroom on September 19
Sloan told police she had “self-esteem” issues and called Daffron an “easier target” than the unidentified “veteran” she originally had in mind.
Sloan, 19, has been held in the Maricopa County Jail since the attack while her victim recovers at home.
Sloan told police she had “self-esteem” issues and had decided to launch her attack the night before at the $784,000 home she shares with her family in the Glendale community less than a mile from the school.
She said she chose Daffron as an “easier target” than the “veteran” she originally had in mind, and a search of Sloan’s backpack revealed a series of handwritten letters addressed to family and friends, apologizing for what she’d done. was about to commit’. ‘.
Daffron was equally baffled about a motive when she spoke to police just before she went into surgery.
“I’m just scared because I don’t know why on earth she would stab me,” the sports business student said.
Daffron’s mother Launi told Dailymail.com that her daughter initially did not realize she was being attacked because Sloan stumbled just before reaching her.
“Mara tried to help her up,” she explained. ‘Then she realized something was wrong. She turned around, ran away and was stabbed in the back.”
“She’s way too scared to go back (to ASU). Her professors are working with her to teach classes online and I hope she can go back next year.
“She’s still in a bit of pain, the point is she’s having nightmares and has to sleep with me.”
Mara with her mother Launi, who says she is “besides herself” over the charge reduction
Kaci Sloan, 19, on her summer holiday in 2022 to the French capital with sister MacKenzie
Mara was left with serious injuries to her triceps and spleen, which required surgery
She told police she had no idea why she had been stabbed, just before she was rushed to the operating room at Banner Thunderbird Hospital for emergency surgery.
Photos on social media show Sloan enjoying a glamorous holiday in France a few years ago, describing herself on LinkedIn as a “goal-oriented, communicative team player who strives for the highest possible quality of work.”
“I learn quickly and am extremely observant, which gives me strong skills in organization and acting quickly in a work environment,” she says.
In photos posted by her sister Mackenzie, the pair are seen laughing and smiling as they enjoyed a trip to France in August 2022.
They happily posed for photos together on a riverboat, in front of the Eiffel Tower and next to Les Invalides.
Sloan had no previous criminal record and witnesses said the attack occurred “without provocation or spoken words.”
She told investigators that she suffered from intrusive thoughts about hurting people, but that she was “disgusted” by them and “never made a plan” until the night before the attack.
Sloan’s LinkedIn profile states that ASU gave her a $5,000 New American University Dean’s Award scholarship and that she was studying for a BBA in business administration and management.
She is a 2023 alumni of Raymond S Kellis School in Glendale, where she claims to have been a member of the marching band, drama club, black sorority and choral club.
Sloan shows off her work as a set designer for a school production on her LinkedIn page
A search of Sloan’s backpack revealed a series of handwritten letters, addressed to family and friends, apologizing for what she was “about to commit.”
Sloan seemed to enjoy the art galleries and sights during her trip to Europe
Sloan’s LinkedIn profile states that ASU gave her a $5,000 New American University Dean’s Award scholarship and that she was studying for a BBA in business administration
“I am very close (sic) and have deep ties to my community,” she wrote.
“I received the Arizona Arts Seal of Proficiency for the theater award, which required more than 80 hours of extracurricular work and activities.”
Prosecutors have yet to determine a motive for the attack, which took place in front of more than a dozen witnesses, but Sloan told police she believed it would make her problems “go away.”
“The defendant admitted that she came to class to hurt someone and that she had been planning the attack the night before,” court documents show.
“This planning included placing the knife used in the attack in her backpack to take to school. The suspect told investigators she knew the victim’s first name but knew nothing else about her.
“She knew the victim from a previous class and shared a class with her this semester.”
Marine veteran Matthew McCormick saved Daffron’s life after dragging his irate classmate away before she could kill her target.
“I’ve never seen anything like it and I hope I never see it again,” he told Arizona State.
‘When she attacked a third time, I was able to grab her wrists and arrest her before any further damage could be done.
“I jumped up and grabbed her wrist and took her to the ground and immediately disarmed her, and then I just held her there until authorities arrived,” he added.
Marine veteran Matthew McCormick saved Daffron’s life after dragging his irate classmate away before she could kill her target
Sloan is a 2023 alumni of Raymond S Kellis School in Glendale, where she claims to have been a member of the marching band, drama club, black sorority and choral club.
Mara has undergone two hospital surgeries so far to repair the physical damage
‘I just knew I had to do something. I had to act immediately.
‘Actually, the whole situation was just despicable. You know, it’s predatory to prey on those who are considered easier targets. I really have no words.’
Judge Jane McLaughlin told Sloan her attack was “analogous to a school shooting and the risk you pose in the community is extreme” as she appeared in court for the first time.
Her rescuer, considered a hero, said he hoped to see his injured classmate back at school soon. ‘She’s very lively. She is bubbly and energetic,” McCormick said. “Just a great person to be around and I think the world is a better place with her in it.”