Kaci Sloan ASU student who randomly stabbed fellow classmate, Mara Daffron in ‘premeditated attack,’ has charges against her lowered as Arizona State University student victim’s family express disbelief.
A 19 year old woman alleged to have ‘randomly’ stabbed a fellow classmate at Arizona State University has had charges against her reduced, leading to the victim’s family now expressing outrage.
Kaci Sloan was facing multiple charges, including attempted murder after suddenly attacking Mara Daffron, 19, as the pair arrived for class at ASU’s West Valley campus on September 19.
The incident led to Daffron requiring emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen and injuries to her chest and arm after Sloan stabbed her twice in a premeditated attack.
‘We are beside ourselves!’
Student bystanders were able to intercede, detaining Sloan until responding officers arrived at the school and arresting her.
At the time of her initial arrest, Sloan, who hails from a privileged family (more below) had faced a multitude of charges, including; first degree attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, interfering with an educational institution and disorderly conduct.
Following a Monday court hearing, Sloan had two charges against her dropped leaving her to now face the lesser charges of aggravated assault with a prison term of between two and nine years.
‘We are beside ourselves!’ Mara’s mother, Launi told the dailymail.
‘So the only way there would be justice is if my daughter had actually died?’
Sloan in the days following the attack told police she had issues with ‘self-worth’ and had decided to launch her attack the evening before at the $784,000 home she shares with her family in the Glendale gated community less than a mile from the school.
She said she singled out 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 was ‘about to commit’.
‘Goal-oriented, communicative team player…’
The episode who is now recovering at home, has led to Mara ‘too afraid’ to return to class, with the Sports Business major now taking online classes.
Explained Mara’s mom, ‘She’s way too afraid to go back (to ASU). Her professors are working with her to do online lectures and I hope she will be able to go back next year.
‘She’s still having a little bit of pain, the thing is she’s having nightmares and having to sleep with me.’
A regard of Sloan’s social media profile showed the Business Major traveling to Paris, France in 2022, with the 19 year old ASU student describing herself on Linkedln as a ‘goal-oriented, communicative team player that strives for the highest quality of work possible’.
‘I am a quick learner and extremely observant, which gives me strong skills in organization and acting quickly in a work setting,’ she states.
Sloan had no previous criminal record and witnesses said the attack came ‘without provocation or any words spoken’.
She told investigators she suffered intrusive thoughts about hurting people but ‘felt disgusted’ with them and ‘never made a plan’ until the night before the attack.
What led to judge lowering charges?
Sloan’s LinkedIn profile notes 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 student union, and choir club.
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 she came to class to hurt somebody and was planning the attack since the night prior,’ court documents reveal.
‘This planning included placing the knife used in the attack in her backpack to bring to school. The defendant told detectives she knew the victim’s first name but did not know anything else about her.
‘She knew the victim from a prior class and shared a class with her this semester.’
Judge Jane McLaughlin told Sloan her attack was ‘analogous to a school shooting and the risk that you pose in the community is extreme,’ when she made her first court appearance.
Commented Mara Daffron as she continues to heal after surgery, ‘I’m just scared because I don’t know why the f**k she would stab me.’
Not immediately clear is what led to the judge to do an apparent about turn and remove the serious charges against Sloan.
Sloan remains in Maricopa County jail on a $250,000 bond.