An alleged violent incident in East Austin has left a community shaken after Danielle McNelton, a pregnant woman, was assaulted reportedly causing her to go into early labor. According to a CBS Austin report, 53-year-old Acie L. Bouye is facing felony charges for the assault which occurred at an apartment complex located on East U.S. 290 Highway Service Road.
Witnesses claim that Bouye, who was McNelton's former caretaker, approached her in the complex's parking lot and struck her multiple times before she was thrown to the ground. Responding officers noted that McNelton, who was nine months pregnant at the time, sustained visible injuries and, the assault appeared to have induced early labor. Bouye was arrested on September 19 and according to online records, Bouye remains in custody at the Travis County Correctional Complex with a bond set at $60,000.
In a parallel account outlined by a KVUE interview, the victim, Danielle McNelton, detailed her harrowing experience saying, "I could have died. My baby could have died." McNelton recounted the escalation of harassment from Bouye spanning multiple months, culminating in the assault that was captured on video by a neighbor. Despite her efforts to mitigate the situation, including filing a protection order and notifying the police of Bouye's behavior, McNelton felt let down by the system, indicating that her cries for help were repeatedly dismissed.
Following the incident, McNelton's mother, Brenda Rose, shared the fear and desperation that gripped her when the call between her and her daughter abruptly ended during the altercation, telling KVUE, "I thought my baby was dead. I thought my baby was dead because she wasn't answering the phone." The apartment complex, in response to the distressing event, is now reportedly working to relocate McNelton and evict Bouye.
As for McNelton, the future is filled with uncertainty and fear as she contends with the trauma of the attack and concerns for her family's safety. Despite a protective order being filed, the prospect of another confrontation looms over her. "That just let me know [that] every day is not really promised to you because I could have died," McNelton expressed, encapsulating the gravity of her ordeal and the vulnerability she continues to endure.
