Police said the suspect used a key to enter his ex-girlfriend’s home before the early-morning attack.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A 29-year-old man was charged after police said he entered his ex-girlfriend’s Green Bay home with a machete and attacked her and a man she was with early April 20, leaving both victims hospitalized.

David Mairena-Garcia faces six criminal counts in Brown County, including two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, after the attack at a home in the 900 block of Edgewood Drive. The case centers on what police described as a sudden assault by a former partner who knew the woman, had a child with her and allegedly had threatened her before the violence.

Officers were called about 5:15 a.m. for a report of an attack involving an edged weapon. The 26-year-old woman and the 23-year-old man both had serious injuries when police and medical workers arrived. The woman later told investigators that Mairena-Garcia came into the home and gave no warning. “David did not say anything, he just went in and started cutting them and attacking them with the machete,” she told police, according to the complaint. Police said the man was struck in the shoulder, forearm and shin, while the woman suffered cuts to her hand and neck and an injury to her head.

The complaint says Mairena-Garcia used a key to enter the residence and found the woman with another man. The male victim told police he left the bedroom and ran outside, then continued down Edgewood Drive as the attack moved out of the home. Investigators said Mairena-Garcia chased him with the machete before leaving in a vehicle that the victim thought was a black SUV. During part of that time, police said, Mairena-Garcia also beat the woman and chased her out of the house. Authorities have not said how long the attack lasted, whether anyone else was inside or who called 911. Police said the two victims were treated at the scene before they were taken to a hospital. Their names were not released. The woman told investigators that Mairena-Garcia had made several death threats to her by text message and in person before the attack, according to the complaint. Authorities have not released the messages or described when the alleged threats were sent. The complaint says the woman and Mairena-Garcia share a child, but it does not say whether the child was at the home when the violence happened. The victims’ conditions after hospitalization were not detailed in the public reports.

Investigators said they used Flock cameras to track Mairena-Garcia’s vehicle after he left the Edgewood Drive area. Police arrested him during a traffic stop about three hours after officers were first called. The complaint says he later told police he saw his “wife” with another man in his bed, lost his mind and blacked out because of rage. He also allegedly told investigators that all he was thinking was “just wanting to kill them.” Police said he told them where he had thrown the machete along a highway, and authorities recovered it.

The case moved quickly from the police response to the courthouse. A criminal complaint was filed the day after the attack, and Mairena-Garcia was scheduled for an initial appearance that afternoon. In addition to the two attempted homicide counts, local reports said he faces charges that include armed burglary and aggravated battery. The attempted homicide counts carry the most severe exposure, with the possibility of life in prison if he is convicted. Court records cited in local reports showed a $750,000 cash bond was set. The attack drew attention beyond the local criminal case after Brown County Jail records showed a federal immigration detainer hold had been placed on Mairena-Garcia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement later said he is a citizen of Nicaragua who entered the United States unlawfully in 2019 in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and had a 2022 final order of removal. ICE Director Todd Lyons said the agency lodged the detainer with the jail and expected local officials to work with federal authorities before any release. The criminal charges in Brown County remain separate from any immigration action.

The scene on Edgewood Drive was described in court filings as a home where a private relationship dispute became a public police response before sunrise. Officers arrived to find two injured people, then followed a trail that moved from a bedroom to the street, a fleeing vehicle, a traffic stop and a discarded weapon. Police have not released body-camera video, 911 audio or full investigative reports. The complaint gives the clearest account so far, built from the victims’ statements, the suspect’s alleged admissions and the recovery of the machete.

Mairena-Garcia remained in custody as the case moved forward in Brown County Circuit Court. The next steps include further court appearances, possible preliminary proceedings and the continued review of police evidence, medical records and witness statements.

Author note: Last updated May 17, 2026.