Survivor of Brutal Attempted Femicide in Miami Speaks Out, Urges Women to Heed Warning Signs

Heydi Morales, a Cuban mother residing in Miami, broke her silence on Tuesday to recount the harrowing attack that nearly claimed her life. Her former partner stabbed her 34 times across various parts of her body on the night of Sunday, June 22, in the Coral Gate neighborhood.

Her chilling account of extreme violence and survival was exclusively captured by journalist Maylin Legañoa for Telemundo 51.

The Relentless Attack

Almost a month after the assault, Morales is still on the road to physical and emotional recovery. Yet, she chose to speak out, aiming to warn other women about potential dangers.

Her initial words on camera starkly encapsulate the brutality she endured. "Everything he did was to kill me," she declared, underscoring the savagery of the attack, "because it wasn't one or two, it was 34... 34 stab wounds in various parts of the body." The physical scars remain a vivid reminder of her ordeal.

According to the arrest report, the injuries were distributed as follows: 10 stab wounds to the neck, 10 to the right shoulder, seven to the forearm, and three to the chest, along with other injuries scattered across her body.

The Perpetrator's Motive

The assailant, identified as Leisnier Mauri García, aged 40, faces charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and domestic violence. He is currently held without bail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Morales describes the relationship, which lasted about a year, as seemingly "healthy" at the start: "We had a pretty healthy relationship, we got along well." However, over time, controlling behaviors emerged—red flags she now realizes she missed.

"He was jealous, put GPS on my phone, came to my workplace. When we separated, he grabbed me by the neck, nearly killed me," she recounted.

A Plea for Help

The final attack was triggered when Morales informed García of her intention to end the relationship. He retrieved a knife from the back seat of a vehicle and stabbed her repeatedly in the back without warning, inside her home at 3400 Southwest 16th Terrace.

Security footage from a Ring camera caught Morales, bleeding and screaming for help. She vividly recalls the moments of the assault: "You don't feel the first ones, and when I saw it, I started bleeding, I used this hand, which is the most injured, and began to shout for help, help, help."

Her assailant coldly responded with, "Nobody is going to hear you here."

Urgently taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, doctors had to perform extensive surgery to reconstruct her arm, as she was unable to move her fingers.

A Child's Courage

Amid the chaos, Morales credits her son with saving her life. "My child was the one who helped me, he pressed on the wounds, called the police, I started to breathe, and as I breathed, I thought: I have to survive, I have two children," she expressed.

García was located and arrested on June 25 in Little Havana, found with cuts on his hands.

A Warning to Others

The accused had previous criminal records in Florida, including an arrest in August 2025 in Broward County for grand theft and falsifying public records, as reported by the cited media.

Morales shared her story publicly with a clear goal: to ensure no other woman overlooks the warnings she did. "You can't ignore the signs; you have to see what the person is really like and know if they have some problems, some traumas, 'act' in time," she urged.

Regarding the sentence she hopes for her assailant, she was straightforward: "I would ask for life imprisonment, which is 25 years, something like that."

Florida sees over 124,000 domestic violence incidents annually, with a family member killing another every 36 hours, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.