Suspect in fatal Tucson hatchet attack appears in court

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - The suspect in the fatal hatchet attack at a public transit stop in Tucson appeared in court Tuesday, Oct. 20.

25-year-old Daniel Michael, Jr. faces a murder charge in the death of Jacob Couch.

During the hearing, the judge granted the defense a motion filed last month requesting an examination of Daniel Michael’s mental status at the time of the incident.

His next court hearing, a status conference, is scheduled for Dec. 21.

Couch, the victim of the brutal attack in Tucson in 2025, died days later, just hours after a vigil was held for him outside Banner University Medical Center in Tucson. The family said his heart gave out.

Jacob, 32, had been on life support since he was attacked at a streetcar stop in downtown Tucson.

Michael was arrested at his home three days after the incident.

He initially faced two counts of aggravated assault, but detectives amended those charges to first-degree murder following Couch’s passing.

His bond has been set at $1 million.

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According to police, at around 10 a.m. on April 5, Jacob and his wife Kristen were sitting on a bench on the corner of 6th and Broadway when a man approached them and yelled at them.

Records show Jacob said something back to the man, and that’s when Jacob was hit in the neck with what is believed to be a hatchet. Jacob suffered a massive wound and bled profusely.

“The injury cut the artery in the back of his neck in half. It went so deep that it hit his skull,” said Jacob’s sister-in-law Erica Sims.

The couple, from Alabama, was in Tucson to take in the sights after spending the last few months in California. The two were vacationing to grieve and process the loss of their son Brooks, who was stillborn in May 2024.

Documents show during a search warrant investigators found a hatchet in his apartment as well as clothes worn during the incident. Records say when Michael was confronted with surveillance video of him in the area of the scene, he confirmed it was him.

Documents say Michael initially denied any involvement, but later admitted he had been drinking heavily and didn’t remember anything. Records then say the suspect remembered confronting Jacob. Details as to what happened between the two men is unclear. An investigation is ongoing.

13 News was there when a vigil was held outside of Banner.

The family was among a group of community members who gathered to rally behind Jacob.

The brutal and senseless act of violence touched a lot of people in the Tucson community who said they wanted to be by the family’s side as they go through the unimaginable.

“It broke my heart to hear something so demonic, so horrible to happen to people who were coming to visit you know not even like really to visit but make their way back home, and something that dark happening in our city really broke my heart,” said Vigil Attendee Roseanna Gonzalez.

A lot of people have stepped up to help the family, including one community member who opened their home to Jacob’s younger brother and wife to give them a place to stay.

The tragedy has also made national headlines, and more than $70,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe account.

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