48 Hours to Cover A Stabbing in Colts Neck
Donna Ongsiako was home alone in her Colts Neck, N.J., home after midnight when she heard a noise downstairs near the door. She thought that she forgot to let the cat back in. When she opened the door, her life changed forever. There was a young man with a knife, who pushed his way in and began to repeatedly stab her. Ongsiako talks with contributor Jim Axelrod about her inspirational story of survival and her efforts to help other victims of random violence in 48 HOURS: “A Stabbing in Colts Neck” to be broadcast Saturday, May 20 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+. (Editor’s note: This broadcast was preempted on Saturday, May 13.)
The assailant asked for her car keys and a lighter. He then stabbed her one last time in the chest and soon took off, leaving her for dead. Ongsiako dialed 911 and was able to give a description of her attacker.
“I lost in total, close to three-quarters of the blood in my body,” Ongsiako tells Axelrod. “There’s no earthly reason why I’m alive. None.”
A tip would lead them to a local teen named Brennan Doyle. He was just 16 years old and had no criminal record.
In addition to Ongsiako, the hour features interviews with her daughter, Kiersten, Monmouth County detective Andrea Tozzi, former Monmouth County assistant prosecutor Laurie Gerhardt and others.
48 HOURS: “A Stabbing in Colts Neck” is produced by Susan Mallie and Kat Teurfs. Marcus Balsam, Michelle Harris and Jud Johnston are the editors. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
48 HOURS, now in its 35th year, is one of the most successful true-crime docuseries in television history and has been the #1 non-sports broadcast on Saturday nights for 16 consecutive years. 48 HOURS is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on CBS, and streams anytime on Paramount+. You can also watch 48 HOURS on the CBS News Streaming Network Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET. Download the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV. Follow 48 HOURS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBS Audio.
