Michael Anselmo Stabbed Deidra Nightingale, Housekeeper Who Rejected Him, Florida Police Say

A Florida man brutally stabbed his housekeeper over the weekend, police say, but local golfers prevented him from killing her.

Michael Anselmo, 64, was arrested on Sunday after allegedly attacking his 47-year-old housekeeper, Deidra Nightingale, with a kitchen knife. Nightingale was leaving Anselmo's Holly Hill home, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports, when he allegedly chased her down, threw her on the sidewalk and stabbed her in the lower abdomen.

Nightingale and Anselmo have known each other for 10 years, according to WKMG. Police Chief Mark Barker said that the attack began when Nightingale "refused to enter into a romantic relationship with [Anselmo]." The police report states that Anselmo had made romantic advances several times previously.

Anselmo was attempting to slit Nightingale's throat, WESH reports, when two golfers at a nearby course heard her screams. Roger Holt, 56, and his 22-year-old son, Kevin, rushed towards the sounds of the struggle. Kevin threatened to hit Anselmo with a golf club if he did not drop the knife. A third man, whose name has not been released, also assisted in fending off Anselmo.

When police arrived at the scene, Anselmo allegedly muttered, "I didn't do a good enough job," a statement Chief Barker took to mean that the assailant fully intended to kill his housekeeper. Barker called the golfers "courageous" and credited them with saving Nightingale's life.

Nightingale is recovering at a local hospital, according to My Fox Orlando. Anselmo has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and remains jailed.