WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – An Auburndale man is facing an Attempted Second-Degree Murder charge after a woman was stabbed outside her Winter Haven residence Wednesday evening, according to the Winter Haven Police Department.
Police responded to a stabbing report on Avenue Q NW around 8:30 p.m. on April 16, 2025. Officers found a female victim with significant injuries. She was subsequently airlifted to Lakeland Regional Health, where she is currently listed in critical but stable condition.
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According to the victim’s statement to police, she was returning home from the store when 54-year-old Michael Laverro Patterson emerged from behind a building. The victim reported that Patterson, appearing agitated, questioned her about why she had stopped communicating with him. She attempted to de-escalate the situation and asked him to let her put her items inside her home.
As the victim tried to unlock her door, she told officers Patterson allegedly stated, “I really want to hurt you bitch, I really want to hurt you, I want to kill you.” Immediately after, she felt what she initially thought were punches to the back of her neck and shoulder, then realized she was bleeding. Patterson reportedly walked away as she screamed for help.
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Police learned the victim knew Patterson and had previously communicated with him via telephone. She ceased contact after he allegedly became verbally abusive. The victim reported that Patterson subsequently began following her to her residence, leading her to have him formally trespassed from the property in January 2025. While he had reportedly not returned to her home since the trespass warning until Wednesday’s incident, she indicated he had shown up at her place of employment.
Following the stabbing, officers searched the vicinity and located Patterson on the Chain of Lakes Trail bridge near Martin Luther King Blvd. NW and Unity Way. He was detained but refused to speak with officers.
Michael Laverro Patterson was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. He faces one count of Attempted Second-Degree Murder (F1) and one count of Trespass after Warning (M2).
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