Q&A: Oklahoma bride attacked in Dallas weeks before her wedding

A bride-to-be’s bachelorette party in Dallas took a turn when she was attacked without warning while leaving a club in Deep Ellum just weeks before her wedding.

Canada Rinaldi tells us what was supposed to be a weekend of celebration ended in a trip to the hospital with serious injuries, including a broken nose, stitches, and a concussion.

Now, as she recovers, she’s sharing her story, hoping for justice while trying to move forward with wedding plans.

Why were you in Dallas? What was the backstory?

"I went to Dallas for my bachelorette party. We were there Thursday to Sunday. We had just a few events booked and nice dinners and lunches, and we rented a boat. And then Saturday was our last night there, and we went out just for drinks at the club in Deep Ellum, and then on our way leaving was whenever I was attacked."

Can you describe how the attack happened?

"We were just leaving. The person that attacked me was actually just sitting on the curb whenever we came out, and we were coming around the corner. So he was just sitting there. In one of the Uber videos, he's actually shown looking over at us, and then he just gets up and comes up behind me. My sister said that she saw him kind of put his hand out, like to touch my hat, and then that's whenever he hit me. But I never saw him face to face."

Did you see this coming at all?

"I never did. I didn't even know what happened. Whenever I woke up, they had to tell me what happened because I didn't even know."

What do you remember from that night?

"The last thing I remember was just walking to our Uber, and we were going to check the license plate just to make sure it was the right car. And then I just remember waking up and looking up in the ambulance. I don't remember being outside."

Have they found the suspect?

"They haven't found him. I just got word last night from the detective on my case that they have identified him. So they do have a warrant, and they do have a name."

How badly were you hurt?

"I was taken to the hospital, and I have eight stitches here on my forehead, my nose is broken, three of my teeth are broken, and I have a concussion."

Did the attacker use a weapon?

"As far as we know, it was just his hands. I think what I assume happened is he hit me in the jaw, and he just hit me so hard it knocked me unconscious. And I think that everything else, all the rest of the damage, was just from whenever I hit the pavement."

How are you feeling emotionally after all this?

"Obviously, I wasn't expecting it. This was a trip that we'd had planned since July of last year. We were all really excited to go, and it was going well. It was really super fun. Everything worked out exactly how we had thought — maybe even better. It was just some of the best times and some of the best memories that we'll have. So this definitely left us with different types of memories. I mean, everyone is really sad, and everyone's really traumatized. I think that this will stick with all of us forever. But it's really hard now for me to finish planning my wedding and to focus on all the things I need to do leading up to my wedding because it's in April — April 26."

Are you still planning to have the wedding on that day?

"We're still gonna have it the same day. We have a lot of things already set up for that day, and we didn't want to push it back any further. So we'll still do that day."

Do you think you’ll be healed in time?

"They told me in two weeks that my stitches should be good, that I can start putting scar cream on them to help fade. I had some other injuries that are already healing quickly. Hopefully, my nose just heals straight. And my teeth — they’re not really noticeable to other people. It’s just uncomfortable. So if I can get in somewhere pretty quickly just to help with the comfort, then I think we'll be good."

Do you have any idea why this happened?

"A woman who said that she's his cousin told me that he is schizophrenic, and she said that I resemble — and this is just her assumption — but that I resemble somebody that he used to date or that he knew in his past that he was hyper-fixated on. So she thinks that's why he did it. But, I mean, that's not 100% sure."

Where is your wedding?

"I'm actually getting married in a little town in Kansas. It's called Hugoton, Kansas. It's about 20 miles from where I live in Oklahoma."

Despite what happened, are you still excited for the wedding?

"Yes. We're still excited. I think at first it was hard to even think about having a wedding, but we're getting excited again. We still think it'll be a lot of fun, and everyone will be together. We'll have our family with us, so I think it'll be good for us."

Visit the official GoFundme to donate and help with the medical costs.