Woman Arranged Fake Car Date with Man, Then Another Man Jumped Out of Trunk and Stabbed Victim 19 Times

“He was choked with a cable and stabbed repeatedly 19 times," Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms tells PEOPLE. "Missed his jugular vein on both sides of his neck by the grace of God"

An Alabama woman who arranged a fake date with a man who was then stabbed 19 times has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Shailyn Diaz, 27, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with the kidnapping and stabbing of a 33-year-old man.

Diaz entered her plea Monday, June 24 — the same day she was scheduled to go to trial, the 33rd Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office confirms to PEOPLE.

Diaz’s accomplice, Robert Lane Hall, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Wednesday, June 12, and was sentenced to life in prison.  

Diaz allegedly arranged the date with the victim on social media before picking him up near his home in the early evening hours of Sunday, Jan. 7.

Before they drove off, Diaz had “him handcuffed and blindfolded as part of their date,” says Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms.

After the victim complained that the handcuffs were too tight, Diaz pulled over and told him the keys were in the trunk, says Helms.

“That’s when she let Mr. Hall out,” he says. “Mr. Hall got inside and put a cable around [the victim's] neck.”

Helms says they then drove around the county before pulling over and dragging the victim out of the vehicle. He was stabbed 19 times with a seven-inch knife, Helms says.

The victim “pretended to go limp for a minute,” says Helms. “Mr. Hall got up for just a bit and [the victim] got up and took off running. He was able to get away.”

“He’s tough,” Helms says about the victim. “He was choked with a cable and stabbed repeatedly 19 times. Missed his jugular vein on both sides of his neck by the grace of God. Literally just missed it. It was one of those things that we weren’t sure he would make it or not. We were surprised.”

Helms says that once Hall was identified, he allegedly called police dispatch and confessed to the attack.

“He was very open about it,” he says.

Helms says Hall “enlisted Diaz to do this for him,” he says. “[Hall] claimed he had a problem somehow with [the victim] and this was his way of getting him back.”

“Be careful who you talk to on social media,” says Helms. “It could have been a lot worse. We are happy [the victim] survived and we were able to close the case as quickly as we were able to.”