Annastasia “Annie” Hester, a single mother from Oregon, was in the comfort of her Gresham apartment when an intruder entered through a back window and launched a brutal attack on her.

The assailant stabbed Annie over 60 times using three different knives, attempting to decapitate her during a prolonged and torturous ordeal that lasted into the early hours of June 10, 2016, as detailed in a November 10 episode of Oxygen’s Dateline: Secrets Uncovered.

“It is a horrific and very, obviously, very violent crime scene,” stated Detective Aaron Turnage, highlighting the severity of the attack.

Despite her severe injuries, Annie managed to make a desperate six-minute call to 911 at approximately 3 a.m.

“Help,” she pleaded with the dispatcher. “Someone tried to kill me.”

Annie—who’d been sleeping on a living room pull-out couch at the time the attack began—told the dispatcher she didn’t know who’d attacked her.

Officers Find Bloody Footprints at Murder Scene of Annie Hester

Responding officers quickly rushed to the scene. After finding bloody footprints by the front door of the apartment, they took down a six-foot fence to gain access to the apartment’s back door. Annie was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. 

Along with the stab wounds—which in some cases went at least 8 inches deep—a medical examiner discovered that someone had carved the letters “VXV” into her shoulder. 

Annie’s neighbors reported hearing a woman screaming and moaning around 11 p.m., although no one ever thought to call police. Hours later, another set of witnesses reported hearing a car door slam and another woman’s scream around 3 a.m. just before the 911 call was placed.

“One of the things that haunts me about this case,” Turnage shared, “is just the level of pain that Annie had to endure for three and a half hours, and still Annie has the wherewithal to fight for herself, call 911, and give out the information to get law enforcement there.”

Telling Clues Point to Possible Suspect

Those who knew Annie were shocked by the brutal killing. By all accounts, Annie was a devoted mom to her young daughter Alice. When she wasn’t working at her call center shop or caring for her daughter, the 34-year-old immersed herself into a fantasy subculture of people who enjoyed dressing as pirates and started her own face painting business.

For years, Annie and her ex-husband Matt had enjoyed a peaceful co-parenting situation until he married Angela McCraw Hester, a woman with children of her own, in 2014. At some point, Matt and his new wife began advocating for more time with Alice in a bitter custody battle that found its way to court. 

Just six months before the murder, Annie had been awarded full custody of her daughter, while Matt was ordered to pay an approximately $29,000 bill in court and lawyers fees as well as about $13,000 in back child support.

Both Matt and Angela insisted they were both home all night of the murder, yet authorities uncovered surveillance footage that showed the couple’s silver SUV leaving their house just before 11 p.m. and traveling along the route to Annie’s apartment. The vehicle was seen returning to the house around 3 a.m. 

During Annie’s memorial service an undercover detective sitting next to the couple also noticed that Angela had a one-and-a-half inch cut on the back of her right hand. 

Detectives were also able to trace bloody footprints found at the crime scene to a size 9.5 pair of boots purchased by Angela. DNA analysis also showed Angela’s blood on the knife block in Annie’s kitchen. Her DNA also matched blood stains found in the couple’s vehicle. 

Detectives still suspect he may have played a greater role in the Annie’s death and said other charges could still be possible against him in future.