Nurse Credited With Saving Stabbing Victim’s Life

LA QUINTA -Police arrested 32 year old Nick Caupain Tuesday afternoon outside a home on Camino Del Oro near Adams and Fred Waring in La Quinta.

Police say Caupain was dating the victim and that an argument led to the stabbing. Witnesses say they saw the 34 year old woman collapse outside the home.

An off-duty nurse came to her aid and waited for paramedics to arrive. The police believe her quick response may have saved a life.

Ruthann Phillips and her niece were just driving when they came upon the shocking sight.

“She was completely naked and she was just absolutely covered in blood from head to toe.

She just got up to the window and just grabbed on to it and kind of slumped into my car and I said, ‘oh my God!’ I saw blood coming from her head and I said ‘what happened to you?’ and she said, ‘he stabbed me,'”

Phillips says neighbors stood back, afraid of the boyfriend, still inside the house.

“I just tried to keep her calm and put pressure on her wounds and tell her she was safe and said a prayer for her and she asked me is she was dying. I said, ‘no you are going to be fine. You’re safe now and help is on the way.’ And I just kept her from going into shock because she was very cold and had a lot of blood loss. She had like 35 stab wounds all over her body,” recalls Phillips.

La Quinta deputies are nominating Phillips for a citizen lifesaver award. Standing calm in the face of danger, Phillips has this advice for others, “Please help your neighbors. Please help people out of the kindness of your heart. One needs to just do everything out of love.”