For Emily Javier, the clues apparently were obvious.
She found the Tinder dating app on the cellphone of her boyfriend Alex Lovell, along with scratches on his back and red hair in the shower drain. Javier's hair is dyed blue-green.
And it all pointed to Lovell cheating on her.
Not to mention Javier was growing weary of Lovell, 29, playing video games all day and not helping out around the Camas, Washington, house they share, the Columbian reported, citing court documents.
So Javier, 30, went to a mall and bought a samurai sword, the paper said, adding that she told investigators she plotted to stab Lovell with it.
And in the wee hours of March 3, authorities said that's exactly what happened.
The night before Lovell came home and ignored her, so “she decided tonight was the night she was going to do it,” police wrote in the affidavit, the Columbian reported.
Javier stashed the sword — and two knives she taped together — on her side of the bed, hid Lovell's cellphone so he couldn't call for help, waited for him to fall asleep, grabbed the sword and began attacking Lovell with it, the paper said, citing court records.
Lovell told the Columbian in an interview a little over a week later that Javier accidentally woke him up as she swung the sword at him, and he used his limbs to block her attack — and then his survival instincts ignited: “She woke the dragon.”
As in Lovell's lifetime spent watching Kung Fu films and receiving martial arts training, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported after a Facebook message exchange with him Wednesday.
"I was able to wing chun my way to survival," Lovell told the Oregonian, referring to the Chinese martial art that emphasizes close-range combat.
Alex Lovell (Image source: KPTV-TV video screenshot)
He told the Oregonian he got his girlfriend of two years into a bear hug and pleaded with her.
"I saw the look in her eyes, and it scared the living poop out of me," Lovell told the Oregonian. "I told her I loved her, and she was killing me. She needed to call police, or I was going to die."
Javier called 911 about 1:54 a.m. after she believed Lovell was dead, the Columbian reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.
In a 911 call recording obtained by the Oregonian, a woman who identified herself as Emily Javier told a dispatcher she stabbed her boyfriend repeatedly with a sword and that she couldn't go into the bedroom because there was too much blood.
"I think he's dead," the distraught woman is heard saying. "You need to hurry."
When police arrived at the scene, a crying Javier was covered in blood and walked outside with her hands up, the Columbian reported, citing court records.
Image source: KPTV-TV video screenshot
“He’s in there. I just stabbed him. You guys need to help him!” she said, according to the Columbian, citing what police wrote in the affidavit, adding that “her plan was to kill her boyfriend and then herself."
Officers entered the bedroom and found Lovell curled up in a ball with blood splattered all over the walls, the Oregonian said, citing the police report.
Lovell told the Columbian his left index, middle and ring fingers were “pretty much” cut off at the base but that doctors were able to reattach them, which soon led to feeling in them coming back.
“It just constantly burns and little spasms make me jump out of my seat. Ouch,” he added to the paper.
More from the Columbian:
His right foot sustained a clean cut, Lovell said, but was stitched up and put in a boot so he can get in and out of his wheelchair. His left knee also suffered a laceration that required a metal plate to repair some of the bone, he said. Lovell will start rehabilitation in a few weeks.Lovell’s right wrist is in a cast. He said he believes it’s fractured and has stitches for the lacerations. “But I can use three fingers to hold this (stylus) I’m using to message you on my phone,” he wrote.
He suffered some minor lacerations on his torso, he said, and a “decent cut” on the left side of his head, as well as bruising on his neck.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
“The road, it’s all smooth sailing from here," Lovell added to the paper. "I survived and have all the resources necessary to recover fully one day. I should be able to walk in six months, but it’s going to take hard work and dedication to relearn how to use my hands and legs."
Javier pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to attempted first-degree murder, the Columbian reported, adding that she remains in custody on $350,000 bail and is awaiting a May 7 trial. Her attempted murder charge includes a deadly weapon enhancement for the sword, which would add another two years to her sentence should she be convicted, the paper said.
Lovell told the Columbian he realizes that many folks out there believe he's a two-timing guy who does little else but play video games all day, he said that's half correct — the video game part, to be precise.
More from the Oregonian:
In recent months, Lovell said he had spent 12 to 13 hours a day playing and training for "PlayerUnknown's Battleground," a computer game where players parachute onto an island, gather weapons and blow each other to bits.The long hours also required him to spend time doing exercises for his hands, wrists and shoulders and also practicing mouse moves and techniques to maximize performance.
"I wasn't a sweaty nerd, more of an Ethlete," he told the Oregonian, employing a term the paper said refers to an individual who adopts an intensive online gaming regimen.
As it happens, members of the "PlayerUnknown's Battleground" launched a GoFundMe campaign for Lovell, which raised just over $8,100 as of Thursday.
"I barely had time to hang out with my girlfriend, let alone another girl,” Lovell told the Columbian, adding that he had Tinder before meeting Javier but was no longer using the app.
Lovell added to the Columbian that his relationship with Javier has been difficult from the start and that jealousy has reared its ugly head more than a few times.
“I didn’t see it coming, but it makes sense that it happened," he told the Columbian. "She obviously didn’t want anyone else to have me so, samurai sword."
The Oregonian asked Lovell if he and Javier were still an item, to which he wrote back: "I haven't spoken with her, if that's what you mean lol."
"She called the authorities and saved my life, I hope that counts for something," he told the Oregonian. "It's a bit complicated. Regardless, I assume she needs some serious help."
"The feeling I had when I won the fight with my bare hands is just absolutely the best feeling," Lovell told the Oregonian. "I've played all the sports, won big games, landed some decent tricks on my snowboard. This was better."
He added: "I was just so proud for beating this samurai wannabe crazy lady with hate in her heart. I've been preparing my whole life for something like this."
