{"id":1018521,"date":"2026-08-23T05:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1018521\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T05:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:37:15","slug":"nyc-mom-of-two-recalls-near-death-slashing-by-ex-con-in-arizona-one-day-before-27th-birthday-everything-was-bloody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1018521\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC mom of two recalls near-death slashing by ex-con in Arizona, one day before 27th birthday: ‘everything was bloody’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York City mother of two who was violently slashed by an ex-con during a hiking trip in Arizona<\/a> told The Post the brutal attack happened so fast that all she realized was that \u201ceverything was bloody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I remember is the neck slice,\u201d 27-year-old Alexis Rowan told The Post of being horrifically attacked on Aug. 12 by local tribe member Taylor Nardo Paya, 29 \u2014 who has a chilling history of violently assaulting women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t feel my hand get stabbed,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like where am I bleeding from because my hand was covered in blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexis Rowan, 27, told The Post she thought she \u201cwas going to die alone\u201d after being violently slashed in the neck while hiking in Arizona. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cMy clothes [were] covered in blood \u2026 .everything was bloody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexis thought she \u201cwas going to die alone\u201d just one day before her 27th birthday after Paya sliced her neck and hand on the Havasupai Reservation moments after she asked him for directions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I felt [my] neck got sliced, I was like, that\u2019s it,\u201d she recalled to The Post of her harrowing near-death experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know is like this is not the way I\u2019m going out, like this is not the way I\u2019m ending my life,\u201d Alexis added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexis was on a birthday hiking trip in Arizona and was attacked just one day before her 27th birthday. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n

Alexis recalled the horror of her neck being sliced but was unaware at the time that her hand was also cut. Brigitte Stelzer\/copyphoto<\/p>\n

Fortunately, a nearby neighbor heard Alexis\u2019 cries for help and raced out to provide aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lady was that angel sent from heaven. If it wasn\u2019t for her God only knows,\u201d Alexis said. \u201cI had blood all over her house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe saved my life. Her opening the door made this man [run] away, scared him away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old required 10 stitches in her neck and three stitches on her left hand. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n

The horrific attack was caught on a nearby Ring camera. ABC7<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are evil,\u201d Rowan\u2019s mom Tricia Rowan said. \u201cYou can\u2019t fix him. People like that deserves to never see the light of day and walk free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tricia said that \u201cyou cannot rehabilitate\u201d people like Paya who she describes as being \u201ca threat to society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place on earth that they belong, other than behind bars like an animal in a cage because they\u2019re predators and they prey on innocent victims,\u201d Tricia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tricia Rowan, 47, said she \u201cwill not stop until justice is served\u201d for her daughter. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n

Alexis said she \u201cnever wants to look at another mountain again\u201d after what happened in Arizona.\u201d Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n

Online court records show that the knife-wielding maniac has a lengthy rap sheet of prior misdemeanor offenses in Arizona in addition to a stint in prison.<\/p>\n

Paya was sentenced to five years behind bars and ordered to undergo sex offender treatment and counseling after he pleaded guilty in Sep. 2016 to robbing and assaulting a woman in Dec. 2015, FOX10<\/a> reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old ex-con was arrested on the Reservation the day after the attack and was taken into federal custody on Aug. 17 because the attack occurred on tribal land, according to Tricia and the outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if he comes out, what next? Someone doesn\u2019t survive. We are just lucky that she fought back and the cameras caught [the assault],\u201d Tricia said.<\/p>\n

Taylor Nardo Paya, 29, pleaded guilty in 2016 to robbing and assaulting a woman in Dec. 2015. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to undergo sex offender treatment. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n

Alexis said the \u201cnext person may not be as strong, may not be prepared mentally that someone is going to attack them or able to put them in danger.\u2019<\/p>\n

The mom of two recalled being \u201cmentally aware\u201d that she \u201cwas in danger [and] not safe\u201d after her initial interaction with Paya.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy gut instinct was like, \u2018this is not okay. I\u2019m not ok,\u2019\u201d Alexis explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexis flew back to New York a day after the harrowing attack. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n

Tricia Rowan said her daughter Alexis is \u201ca fighter.\u201d Brigitte Stelzer\/copyphoto<\/p>\n

Looking toward the New York City skyline, Alexis told The Post she \u201cnever wants to look at another mountain again\u201d after what happened in Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m back with my loved ones \u2013 my family, my children and just New York City as a whole,\u201d Alexis said of her homecoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Paya remains in custody, Tricia said she is \u201cnot going to let this go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am that mom. Don\u2019t mess with my babies,\u201d she warned. \u201cI will not stop until justice is served.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than a week on from the bloody attack, Alexis is on the road to recovery after she got 10 stitches in her neck and three stitches on her left hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe picked the wrong one. My daughter is a fighter, she is a warrior,\u201d Tricia proudly said. \u201cShe wasn\u2019t going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York City mother of two who was violently slashed by an ex-con during a hiking trip…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1018522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5643,11307,12938,343952,9427,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,82991,92398,146330,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":["post-1018521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-arrests","tag-attacks","tag-birthdays","tag-hiking","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-slashings","tag-stitches","tag-tribe","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117143210854288121","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1018521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1018522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1018521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1018521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1018521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}