‘She’s a fighter’: 57-year-old woman fighting for her life after Richmond stabbing

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Fifty-seven-year-old Linda Coleman is in critical condition, fighting for her life after being stabbed in Richmond’s Northside Friday, Aug. 23.

“She’s just laying there, you know, she’s not really alert, because she’s heavily sedated,” Coleman’s sister Rashaan Randolph said. “So she’ll probably open her eyes a little bit, squeeze my hand, and that’s it.”

Police said they found Coleman just before noon Friday on Moss Side Avenue.

“My sister tried to call me, I say probably quarter to 12, I missed her call,” Randolph said. “Then I got a call maybe 12:30 from her daughter to say she’s been in a hospital.”

Randolph said Coleman had surgeries both Friday and Saturday, with doctors treating stab wounds to her heart, liver and chest.

“It just broke me down for real,” Randolph continued. “I was crying and I felt numb because I didn’t know what to expect.”

After searching all day, authorities arrested 69-year-old Jessie Cauthorne, late Friday night. Cauthorne has been charged with felonious assault.

Randolph said Coleman had been seeking protection from Cauthorne, sharing, “She actually was living somewhere for battered women.”

Coleman is now in critical care, battling a broken neck.

“They had to give her about 8 pints of blood,” Randolph said. “But we’re still praying for her, she’s a fighter, she’s strong, my big sister and I love her.”

Cauthorne has been caught, but police still ask that anyone with more information related to this shooting call Det. J. Pittman of Richmond Police at 804-646-3869.

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