'Fighting for my life,' 91-year-old Jean McGuire describes surviving Franklin Park stabbing
By Courtney Cole, WBZ-TV
BOSTON - Even in the face of danger, 91-year-old Jean McGuire has never been one to let fear dictate her life.
"Oh no, no. Don't be afraid, go anywhere you want," she told WBZ-TV in an exclusive interview Wednesday. "Boston. New England. Get yourself together. This should be a safe country."
McGuire was stabbed October 11 while walking in Franklin Park sometime between 7:55 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Her attacker ran off and there have been no arrests.
Late Wednesday, police released surveillance images of the man they are calling a person of interest in the stabbing.
She was able to fight the man off with the help of her dog, Bailey.
"He was at the ankle, I don't know if he really bit him too hard because, it's hard because I was fighting for my life," McGuire said. "Because I saw that knife with the serrated edge."
She also credits self-defense training she received when she was in the METCO school desegregation program.
"I would say from the way the person dived at me, that he had done it before. Because he waited until I passed," McGuire said. "And I didn't have any pocketbook or anything. I didn't have any money."
But even more importantly, she says she's grateful to the two good Samaritans who found her that night.
"I called them Angels without wings, two kids," she said. "I want to thank your parents. Somebody reared them right. You don't just become that way."
Even as she is home on the mend, she is still tirelessly working to make Boston a better place and says she needs help. Not with food or flowers but by donating to Jean McGuire Educational and Health Fund.
"What I'm really interested in is making sure the next generation is caring for each other," she said.
Her doctor said she is on the road to a great recovery. When asked what was next for her, she responded: "Enjoy life! Make love, make good food, good love, and a good paycheck. That's what's next. And I want to walk back in my park. That's my park."
McGuire said she would like to see the park maintained better in the future.