Today is Monday, October 4th, 2021.

On this day in 2009, Kimberly Cates and her 11-year-old daughter were brutally attacked in their home.

Kimberly did not survive. Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of this case, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of violence against women and children and murder that some people may find disturbing.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today we're covering the nightmarish story of Kimberly and Jamie Cates, a senseless attack left one murdered and the other permanently scarred. Let's go back to October 4th, 2009,

in the town of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. Kimberly Cates cradled her 11-year-old daughter, Jamie,

in her arms as they slept. Her husband, David, had left that morning for a business

trip to Baltimore. The 42-year-old nurse didn't want her daughter to sleep alone in their big,

empty house, so she hugged Jamie tight. But evening was still and perfectly quiet, as quaint New England

towns often are. Both of them dozed off at some point,

with Jamie safely tucked into her mother's bed. Late that night, a loud bang rang out from deep

in the house. Kimberly shot up, suddenly wide awake. She immediately rolled over and shook Jamie, asking her daughter if she'd heard

that noise. Jamie did. It had woken her up as well. Like the loving mother she was, Kimberly

took it upon herself to investigate. She told Jamie to wait there in bed while she went to see

what was wrong. The moment Kimberly opened the door, she was met by two strange men.

Stephen Spader and Christopher Gribble, neither one old enough to buy beer, stood in the doorway,

wielding machetes.

To the terrified Jamie, it looked like they were holding swords. Kimberly barely had time to scream

before Spader swung his blade. 11-year-old Jamie immediately leapt from the bed and ran to protect her

mother. She flung her body between Kimberly and her assailant. That's when Gribble turned his attention toward the little

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