By Tory Betts
A former Spanish Fork couple living in Brazil was brutally stabbed by unknown assailants during the weekend, killing the husband and leaving his wife in critical condition.
Todd Staheli, 39, vice-president of Joint Ventures at Shell Southern Cone Gas & Power in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was found dead early Sunday morning by one of his children.
Michelle Staheli, 36, was immediately rushed to the Copa D''Or Hospital where she underwent brain surgery.
Todd Staheli was an active member The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a returned missionary from Australia.
He moved his family to Brazil to work for the Shell Oil Company.
The company issued a statement saying they are 'doing all it can to support the family of its employee while cooperating with authorities to clear up this regrettable event.'
Following a second surgery the day after the attacks, Michelle Staheli now remains in critical condition and has fallen into a coma.
She suffers from a Glasgow 3 type coma on the scale ranging from three to 15, three being the worst, said Max Dutra, physician at the Copa D''Or Hospital.
Dutra said she is under constant supervision from medical personnel, and there have been some spikes in brain activity.
'Unfortunately the prognosis is not good,' he said. 'There is still some brain activity but its not looking good.'
The attacker apparently stabbed the victims repeatedly with a large sharp object. Authorities are still not able to identify a murder weapon, Dutra said.
Apparently the attackers entered the home, attacked the two victims and left without being noticed.
'There was no apparent struggle, but it was an obvious attempted murder,' Dutra said.
Federal rather than local Rio de Janeiro police have taken on the case, and at this time have no suspects or witnesses, he said.
Dutra said police are unaware of any previous fights or arguments Staheli may have been engaged in.
Their four children, ranging from ages 3 to 13, were not harmed in the attack.
The Staheli family in Spanish Fork said they don''t wish to comment on the incident.