August 2, 2007
Brandon Haught 
Public Information Office

TEEN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER 

A 15-year-old was arrested late Thursday morning on charges of attempted 2nd degree homicide and aggravated battery (domestic violence) for his involvement in the shooting and stabbing of his father’s girlfriend near Oak Hill. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for 20-year-old Thomas Aichinger, who was also involved in the attack. The victim had been transported by EVAC ambulance to Bert Fish Memorial Hospital in New Smyrna Beach, but was later transferred to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The attack might have stemmed from an argument over the teen, Robert Wood, moving out of the house and leaving with Aichinger, who had been living in a shed behind a neighbor’s house.

 

The victim, 45-year-old Tina Browning, told responding deputies that at about midnight she was talking with Wood and followed him out of the front door when she saw her boyfriend’s Ford Explorer was loaded with boxes. Browning’s boyfriend was not home, at 139 West Loop, during the incident. She asked Wood what was going on and he said that he was running away. The two continued talking and Browning told deputies that Wood moved around behind her and attacked her. Wood and Aichinger then fled, and Browning, bleeding heavily from her injuries, went to a neighbor’s house. The neighbor called the Sheriff’s Office.

 

Deputies saw that Browning was suffering from multiple stab wounds, and witnesses reported that she might have also been shot. While being treated for her injuries at Bert Fish Medical Center, doctors x-rayed Browning and confirmed that she had been shot. Bullet fragments were found in her head.

 

At approximately 11 a.m. investigators found out that a teen was at Halifax Medical Center with an injury to his hand and acting suspicious. Deputies discovered the boy was Wood, who admitted to investigators that he had attacked Browning. Wood is being treated for a cut to his hand and will be transported to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Daytona Beach once he is medically cleared.

 

Thomas J. Aichinger is a white male, approximately 5’7” tall and 134 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a red shirt, light colored pants and flip-flops. He has an earring on his upper right ear.

 

Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to contact Lt. Shane Summers at (386) 423-3301 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida, toll-free, at 1-888-277-TIPS. Callers to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.