Fond du Lac hatchet attack, sex assault; man sentenced to prison
FOND DU LAC, Wis. - A Ripon man convicted of attacking a woman with a hatchet and sexually assaulting her inside her home has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Plea and prison
In court:
Court records show Hayden Daffinson, 35, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and mayhem in March. Five other felonies were dismissed as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
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Judge Anthony Nehls sentenced Daffinson to 60 years in prison on Monday, June 29. He granted credit for a little more than a year's time served and further sentenced Daffinson to 30 years of extended supervision.
Hayden Daffinson (Courtesy: FDLCDAO)
Hatchet attack
The backstory:
Fond du Lac police were called to a home on Merrill Avenue on June 22, 2025. According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived to find the victim and "an extremely large amount of blood."
Paramedics took the victim to a nearby hospital. She was then flown to a different hospital and underwent hours of surgery due to the severity of her injuries, according to court filings. In addition to the multiple lacerations, she suffered broken arms and several skull fractures.
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Prosecutors said the victim told police she broke up with Daffinson a week before the attack, and he had been "very verbally abusive" since, but she had allowed him to come to her home to get his things on the day of the attack.
After attacking her with the hatchet, court filings said the victim told police Daffinson sexually assaulted her and said: "(Expletive) it, I'm just going to kill you, because I'm going to prison anyway." He then proceeded to attack her with the hatchet again.
The victim further told investigators, per the complaint, that Daffinson only let her live because she told him she would tell police she "fell down the stairs or something."
Police chase
The backstory:
Hours after the attack, police spotted Daffinson's red SUV near I-41 and County Line Road in the Germantown area. A high-speed chase unfolded involving Germantown police and the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Prosecutors said Daffinson reached speeds over 110 mph as he fled. Germantown police said it took spike strips and two PIT maneuvers to end the chase, which covered approximately six miles.
When an officer asked Daffinson if the blood spatter on his legs was from officers breaking out the window of his SUV, court filings said he responded that it was from "fighting with my girlfriend."
The next day, detectives searched the SUV. Court filings said they found a receipt for "PARACORD HANDLE H" and packaging for a "Paracord Handle Hachet," as well as a hatchet sheath. Detectives went to the store where the receipt was from and found "identical items" for sale. Camera footage from the store showed a man, who appeared to be Daffinson, wearing "identical clothing" to what he was arrested in.
What's next:
The Washington County District Attorney's Office charged Daffinson with fleeing police and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety in July 2025. Based on court records, he is yet to appear in court on those charges.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Fond du Lac County District Attorney's Office, Germantown Police Department and Wisconsin Circuit Court.