large woman comes at me like a shark in water and then the scratch was the end and then I went okay trust me extremely traumatic event. But you didn't just stab her just once. It's like seven times. Wednesday, December 27th, 2023, Lake County, Florida. The Lake County Sheriff's Office receives a 911 call reporting that someone had been stabbed inside a residence in Leburg. Police and EMS are rushing to the scene knowing they have to act fast before things get any worse. I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. Hello. Hey, I'm Detective Hos with the sheriff's office. Are you Jillian? Okay. How you doing? Look. Okay. Can I ask Can I talk with you a little bit? Try to figure out what happened. Okay. What happened? I was cooking. Okay. She wanted me to turn my music down. She came out and lunged at me out of nowhere like Okay. And um and then she lunged at me and Scouch and one of her nails started really coming at me. Wait, I'm sorry. Uh Donna came at me. Okay, your mom. Okay. She wanted me to turn the music down, but she literally lunged at me like not out of hell. She had scratched me with her nail and that's when I literally, you know, fight or flight kicked in and I was like, I'm not about to run and have So, so she came at you while you're in the are you in the kitchen like cooking? I was actually um listening to music in the living room. Like I was in the living room at that point walking or like Okay. So you walking around. I don't know. Okay. So you're listening to music kind of chilling. Uh you're done in the kitchen and then she comes out of her room. She lunges out of her room and it's very dark in the room. So there's no lights on in the kitchen. I Is her room like attached to the So I've been in there. So is her room like right attached to the living room or how is it? So when you walk in, her room is all the way back to the left and um I just had to figure out which side it was but on my hand. Um but the left side and then I the um where I was just boopping around with the music too loud, which is what made her lunge out of her room at me. Um I I was just there in the dark because sometimes the lights hurt my eyes. Okay. So I um I was starving, man. Like literally starving. I didn't You didn't get any food. it cooked up or I I had already been having some kind of a defense like need to defend myself because she would like bang on my door, say all this stuff and and like she even like open it and came in my room with like a rusty screwdriver and I have to like bang the door closed cuz I was like, "Oh my god." So, but like Okay. So, was how was that yesterday or today though or was that something? That was just this past week. We've had a few things where few arguments and then even the police were called where she had to get a welfare check cuz I just was like I don't want to talk right now. Like I'm just resting. Like I haven't had a job in a while trying to like I was looking at that but um yeah it's weird. It's like it's broke or something. Um the suspect identified as Jillian Joan Vicaro gave her version of what had happened claiming that she was cooking when her mother asked her to lower the music. According to Jillian, her mother became aggressive over something as simple as loud music, which she said led to a physical altercation. But what the officers found on scene told a much different story. Police found her mother bleeding, suffering from approximately seven stab wounds. What does that have to do with a disagreement over music volume? So, what does she do? What does she do for a living? Does she do um she retired or is she she work uh at uh she uh she mission in resort and like excuse me she that's been out there a long time mission in so you you were in the kitchen but then you went to the living room you're listening to some music and then she come barging out of her room about like but so but you so you knew it was her but you just And she come out and did she have did was she have anything in her hands or is she like what's she doing? What's she saying from I'm trying to figure out which hand it was without my hands. Mhm. Um it was her her left hand then came and strikeed my right hand with her nail and that's when based on her demeanor and her um violent you know it was almost like energy where she was like she was about to make me turn down that music she was like was that was it from your phone? Yeah. Oh okay. Okay. And so okay I blacked out man. I was like I I have to defend myself. Okay. So, um she came out possibly with her her her nail from her her finger like Okay. Like now does she uh what happens after that? Like what point do you call 911? I mean what happens or Well, basically you guys it was literally she uh approaches me, attacking me, right? I defend myself. Okay. Then I run out the back door. Unlock unlock the screen door, right? And hope to God that she's okay. Okay. I'll just I'll Sorry about the hope in whatever, but like literally like I just run out the back door. I then I call right when I'm I set down that knife on on the um garbage and then Okay. And then I go and I just call. Okay. Did you guys wrestle at all or did she or did you guys have to fight her off or did she have to Okay. No. Okay. No wrestling. So, it doesn't look like a like a It doesn't look like everybody's trashed in there from wrestling around or nothing. Okay. It was It was um No wrestling. Okay. No wrestling. So, um uh I think at some point you there was somebody you might have had a knife or something. Did you Did you have to defend yourself with that? Okay. Okay. So, what what did what So, when you set that you set that thing down. So, that's um in the back, but where did it come from? Was it like I had it? Oh, okay. Okay. Do you want me to wire it now? Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to cuz I got to I'm trying to understand. I got to I don't want to just get one side of a story and all. I got to I want to understand the whole thing. So, I have felt threatened by her this past um month or so based on her approaches towards Okay. Such has she has she been trying has she ever physically attacked you in the past? Like was she really trying to like like was she hurt you or is she? Yeah. What' she do to you then? She had hopped on me trying to get my phone trying to get off me and like I was just a little girl. I was like 10 or 11. I mean but she ever tried to like like seriously hurt you like you know shoot you or run you over with a car or like you know like I mean she's your mom and all. I wouldn't think she would try to do that, but I don't know her. So, she's she's never tried to like really like tried to like hurt you or she or kill you kind of. Okay. Okay. I don't I don't I never know, man. Some people's moms are some, you know, like everybody gets a different mom, man. We don't get to choose them. Okay. Okay. I never Okay. I just want I don't know how I don't know how what kind of person she is. So, and I I so I don't know what to think of her. Um, we tried a lot better than Okay, that helps. Okay. Jillian continued to insist that she was simply defending herself from a sudden attack. She claimed it wasn't the first time that this had happened, alleging past abuse. However, her statements were inconsistent and confusing, making it difficult for the officer to clearly understand the true nature of the events or Gillian's motivation for the violent act. This didn't appear to be a premeditated attack and authorities believe Jillian acted on impulse and that's exactly what concerned them the most. Um I've never met her. What's your mom? Has she I don't Well, um I don't think I've ever I don't think I've ever met either of you. But I didn't work over in this area. I've been for the longest time. I worked over in the Srento area. Um we also only lived here for only. So you lived in Daytona before that and then we lived up in Pennsylvania on we lived on um until I was 18. We lived in um Daytona Orland and then I we moved to to Berries which was that one road on Lane Park Road. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, I know. L Park Cutoff is right where our training facility is. Lighthouse. I don't know if you know I don't know which one it is, but I know where Lane Park Cutoff is cuz our training facility is out there. Um, okay. Um, so when she attacked you, do you remember what you as far as what you had to do to get her, you know, to what what did you do? Did you hit her? Did you like kick her? Did you What's that? I don't know if I should have thought, you know. Okay. I'm just It's up to you. That's up. Quite frankly, it happened. It's only one way it happened. Well, yeah. Yeah. Okay. There's only one way it happened. And quite frankly, I I saw it. I was there. I Okay. Was the only one tattoo? Okay. Okay. Um, okay. Um, would you have any issue if um I I don't know where they went, but are the our CSI girls if they photographed your hand where she if she got you with her nail, would that be okay? Okay. I don't know if there's even a mark. Oh, I just in I mean if if she did get you then I just want you know make sure that we document it, right? Okay. So, um I don't mind. I consent. Okay. Okay. I'll I'll see if they um Well, let me see if I can get stuff figured out. Okay. I'm not going to lie. Um you might be in some trouble. So, I mean I you know um I'm not going to lie to you about that. Well, yeah. My job is to try to come out and get all the facts and try to figure stuff out. Okay. Thanks for your honesty. Hey. Um, he's going to be transporting you over to our jail. Okay. Um, the looking at everything. It's um, unfortunately, it is what it is. Jillian showed no emotion while speaking with the officer, expressing no remorse for her actions and avoiding certain questions and even smirking at times when her mother was mentioned. She didn't seem to care about what had just happened. There was clearly something authorities were not being told. They needed to dig deeper into the relationship with her mother to understand the full context and what may have led to the stabbing. Perhaps with time and further questioning in jail, Jillian would share more details that could help investigators to piece everything together. Now, may I ask you two questions? I'm not sure if you're the person that I should answer. Okay. Can I just ask you if the nature I know you're a busy man, but the nature of violence if you may I if I can answer my word. Okay. So, absolutely. The two things I'm curious about are the status of the victim, right? And if I may press charges on the victim charging at me. Um, she was stable last time I knew. Well, last that was yesterday afternoon. I haven't been advised of any. I heard yeah that she's stable and she was and she was far as I haven't been given any updates since yesterday afternoon but I was told that I would be updated if anything changed. So as far as I know she's still stable. Um as far as charges the evidence doesn't really support that. You can the state may you can the state may decide differently when they actually look at stuff but that's something the trial is many days now. It's Yeah. But that right now as far as charges, um, you didn't have a scratch on you, so to speak, no significant injury. You said that the CSI person would photograph and you never followed through with that. No, no, she did. When she told me she photographed over the tall tall on this hand, you guys never asked me where she scratched me. Okay. And by now, it could have been the marks from the the um handcuffs when she ran so hard. Yeah. Let me let me if I have to merandize you if we s because I I'm not getting I'm not No, I don't want to I don't want to I don't want I don't want them to No, no, it's not that. I just don't want them to say that I was trying to and get get you to talk more if you've already been appointed counsel and stuff. Let me let me do this real quick. I I just don't want to I don't want them to say that I tried to, you know, uh you don't have to ask about the So, the I I can tell you the Well, I can tell you my reasoning. Oh, well, it's that was my doing. Well, that my doing. So, um at the scene, um you have no significant injury. Not, you know, you haven't been stabbed. You haven't been beat black and blue or anything like that. Your mom, however, almost died. Yes. and and that's and she came at me at full speed of course. Okay. The problem is also the evidence doesn't support that in the living room. The blood spatter I've been doing this almost 18 years since you came and talked to me. Right. I I know but the what I'm saying is your statement doesn't match the evidence I see at the scene and I went with the evidence I see because that's literally like evidence science and scientific evidence. blood spatter plus the general state of it. It just didn't fit what you had told me. That's what I'm That's what I'm saying. Plus, she had told people that you had stabbed her when they first got there. So, you have a woman almost killed by being stabbed to death with somebody that has almost not a mark on them. And who you know, well, you can imagine. You didn't hear that? my my I I listen to part of the 911 calls, but once again, what people say and evidence that I see may I have to go with evidence. Evidence is scientific. It doesn't lie. It's there. It can be documented. It's it whereas somebody can tell me something that may or may not be true. Okay. The following day at the jail, Jillian finally asked about her mother's condition and showed a minimal degree of empathy, at least until the conversation shifted toward the legal evidence that would determine the charges that she faced. She brought up injuries to her hand and continued to justify her actions as self-defense, showing no real concern over the fact that her mother nearly died. Jillian didn't grasp the gravity of the situation and what she had done, refusing to take responsibility. Her story lacks supporting evidence. How could she continue to see herself as the victim in all of this? And I completely understand that because it's not the science. It's not the metaphorical. It's not the um it's not the really it's not always fair, right? But then our system isn't perfect, but it's the best we've got. The eyes of God. That's why I'm not going to sit here in trouble and be scared. I just want to relax. I want you to be straight in the police. Yeah, absolutely. This is not This is not worth. This is not scary. This is serious as my life. Well, and the crime that was committed that's on that that charging affidavit is a serious crime. And and I know that easily. Well, if somebody scratched you, would you almost stab them to death? The thing is that's what happened. Big woman, right? She's about your size. And I'm saying this pretty much to you cuz you are there. This is the most personal thing that I could possibly have on here with you. I don't but dude, I need someone to about this cuz I'm in here [ __ ] getting treated like by this woman, getting treated like [ __ ] by everybody because they think I'm murderer when literally this woman look at me. I'm tiny. I've been malnourished my whole life for a long time since I was like 10 11 I've been I died I've died a few times. Okay. Um, I my growth was stunted by certain things. I won't go into detail, right? You're a large man. You don't understand. This woman is 57 or something, 50 something years old. She's large, okay? And she's strong, but she has arthritis. Imagine her hopping out of her bed. They're just boopping around the kitchen and then large woman comes out like a shark in water and and then the scratch was the end. And then I went, "Okay." And then I run out the back door. I put that on there. And then I called the EMT, right? I'm like, "Oh, but you didn't distab her just once. It's like seven times." I trust me. It was an extremely extremely traumatic event. I You love your mom, right? We all know us love our mother is unconditional. yet sometimes complicated. Absolutely. And my mother's love for her daughter is the same way. And there were many many um police checks up until that point. Yeah. Documenting our relationship, right? But and you remember also and I asked you yesterday, I said, you know, did she have any weapons in her hand? And you told me that she didn't. She just had her nails. She's large and she was going to take me down based on everything. Once she went, I win. I also don't need psychology. Just please treat me like an a adult and a human being and tell me the truth and tell me straight up cuz my whole entire like or some someone who could lie and say, "Oh, I was just in bed. I was just walking." The thing is I haven't I haven't talked to her myself yet. I went with what the scene showed me. Okay, great. And and and I will I will talk to her when when that's possible. I'm not saying okay, great. I'm saying okay, I understand that. And great to know because I no one told me anything. Yeah. And and I like yesterday I was straight with you. I'm trying to be straight with you today. I uh it's a it's a sucky situation for everybody. I don't I don't relish this kind of thing. It it seems like some of these people here do. And so I'm be cut out right now cuz I'm not in a good place. I'm not happy about this. Like I never want to do that again. I never want something to come at me again. I'm glad I'm in here. Hopefully that'll never happen again. I It won't As long as I'm safe. That's why if I That's why don't come at me with the lights. I don't I literally just don't want to do that again. I need someone to talk to. So that's why I'm seeing this therapist. Okay. Yeah. That's cuz I've been attacked before where a bear person my sister came at me screaming, yelling, took my work back. That's when the fight or flight you can't control when you're blacked out and you start defending yourself. What if I ran and she attacked me? I can't go through that again. She's not. She You told me also your mom had never actually hurt you or tried to hurt you. When I was 10 or 11, she jumped on me on my bed. She's big. Yeah. But she's never tried to like jumping on somebody's not like beating them black and blue or breaking a bone or stabbing them or shooting. She looked like she would have gotten me and I just could not afford that. Okay. And quite frankly, Jillian claims she suffered abuse at the hands of her mother since childhood and tried to justify the stabbing by pointing out the size difference between them. She described how traumatic it was when her mother allegedly lunged at her, but there were no prior reports of abuse, no records to support her claims, and the only thing the evidence clearly showed was seven stab wounds do not suggest self-defense. They suggest an attack, and that alone would be enough to bring charges against her. I uh well, hopefully I'll talk to her whenever I whenever it's possible. um that I I do have to do that on followup and um the state will of course look at the case and the defense will look at the case. They'll see what they can figure out. Okay. Well, I know we have much time until the case. I don't know how much, but I just thank you for letting me know the update on her status because I have no idea. There's no need for me to be mean or cruel or anything. That's I'm I'm There's no need for me to sugarcoat anything. The position I'm in. No, I appreciate I'm asking for the honesty and respect. Absolutely. And have I been a gentleman? Any honesty is the utmost honor and respect you can understand because you're in your position. I'm in my position. You may not have the same respect as say someone working at Starbucks. But I do treat them good too. There there's there are things we still need to figure out with this case. Do you agree with that? I and I'll be I'm going to continue working on it. I It's not just it's not done. I I do I definitely have to continue stuff things like this here I got to do. There's more stuff like that has to be done. Okay. Um I'm going to get out of your hair and and I apologize for bothering you. But um u you know I don't relish this stuff. I don't it's not like I take pleasure in it. It's just what I I have to do. Okay. Good luck to you, ma'am. And and I appreciate you being a lady and I hope I've been a gentleman to you. I guess the lesson as best as we possibly could be gentle at this moment. Yes. And and I'm trust not just my expression is me having nothing to lose. Yeah. So therefore that is why I'm expressing myself loudly and clearly. Yeah. No truthfully. I appreciate I'm not I'm not I'm not the f at this moment. Therefore, I want to bend you along on your day. If there's anything else we need to talk about, is there anything else we need to talk about? No, I can't think of anything right now. But I do hope I wish you the best. I do. And uh and I appreciate you being a lady to me and I'll try to be always be a gentleman if I have to if we get to talk in the future. Okay. Jillian Joan Vicaro, age 24, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted seconddegree murder committed during the course of another felony. Her bond would be set at $260,000 and she faced several years in prison or the possibility of probation depending on the circumstances of the crime and her prior criminal record.