Twenty-one-year-old University student Anne Joling was stabbed and robbed Monday night in front of the door of her apartment. The incident occurred around 1:10 a.m. on Ann Street.
Joling, a news editor at The Michigan Daily, is currently being treated at the University Hospital for a one-inch- to one-and-a-half-inch-deep stab wound between her liver and heart. She is being kept under observation in case the stab wound nicked her heart; however, the injury is not life threatening.
AAPD Lt. Angela Abrams said a husband-and-wife team committed the crime. The 41-year-old male and a 43-year-old female are currently in custody for the crime.
While walking home, Joling said a woman confronted her in front of her apartment building and began babbling incomprehensively.
The victim said she noticed the woman earlier while walking home, but dismissed her as a jogger because she wore an oversized sweatshirt and black, tapered pants.
Joling said that at first she tried to reason with the woman and tell her to leave, but the suspect followed her down the stairs to in front of her apartment door.
Joling said she thought she could still control the situation at that point.
“I thought if I can just get into my apartment ahead of her, I will be okay. Since it was all happening so fast, I didn’t think about how tricky it is to get into my apartment. First I have to turn a deadbolt and then a regular lock,” she said.
While attempting to open her apartment door, the suspect tried to take the victim’s tote bag, resulting in a struggle.
“My instinct was to pull back on my bag since I did not know she was armed,” she said.
During the struggle, the victim said she felt what she thought at the time was a punch in the stomach.
She added she could smell alcohol on the woman’s breath.
After the robbery, Joling entered her apartment and called the AAPD. But she later realized she had been stabbed after noticing blood and a hole in her shirt.
Police found the female suspect near the scene of the assault after the victim supplied them with a clear description of her assailant.
Abrams said the description of the female suspect matched a description of another armed robbery believed to have been committed with a male accomplice on Sept. 24.
This description of the female suspect led the AAPD to believe her accomplice was nearby. After a brief search, the male suspect was found. The knife and school bag were also found in the same proximity.
There are no witnesses to the crime.
The husband and wife will likely be arraigned by 1 p.m. tomorrow, Abrams said.
They are facing charges of armed robbery, which is a felony and has a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The AAPD is also investigating the couple for connections to the armed robbery earlier this week.
Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Diane Brown said that robberies near campus are uncommon and stabbing incidents are even more rare. In 2004, there were four reported robberies on campus and three on public property near campus. And in 2003, there were four on campus and nine on public property near campus.
Joling will be released from the University Hospital today.