Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions and sensitive content.
After wrapping up his high school choir concert at Watauga High School in December 2022, then 17-year-old Marques Spencer headed to Big Lots with friends. Spencer — a Boone local — and the girl he was seeing at the time split away from the group. As he stepped away to use the bathroom, he encountered her middle-aged stepfather, Franklin Ensminger — a man who had previously shown disapproval of the relationship.
The stabbing occurred on Dec. 8, 2022, and Officer Calli Tarallo arrested Ensminger at 7:25 p.m. Tarallo did not respond to request for comment in time for publication.
Ensminger was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and was transported to the Watauga County Detention Center, where he was released into the custody of jailing staff. According to the arrest record, Ensminger was transported “without incident,” meaning he was carried out smoothly and with no unexpected problems.
The day of the stabbing, Spencer said Ensminger forced him into the handicap stall. While in the stall, Ensminger attacked and stabbed Spencer in the neck with a nine-inch knife. According to the arrest record, Ensminger’s “handcuffs were double locked and checked for tightness.”
Two years later, Spencer reflects on how the incident changed his life, and his journey to healing.
“At first, I didn’t really think he stabbed me,” Spencer said. “I put my hand up to my neck and I can feel my finger going inside my neck.”
Spencer, now 19, recalled blood coming out of his nose and could hear blood in his throat while he was talking. He said he was not acting the way someone who had just been stabbed would have acted.
Spencer said after being stabbed, he came out of the bathroom and was “cracking jokes” and kept talking. He said the adrenaline and shock kept him talking to the employees while waiting for the police to arrive.
He said he remains unsure who called the police, but remembers an elderly man talking to him while they waited for first responders to arrive.
“And I’m forever grateful to him, such a kind soul,” Spencer said. “He also just stayed there talking to me, while I was there bleeding out. I really do wish I remembered his name.”
Spencer said he was so terrified of dying that he kept trying to speak with the emergency responders. He said the employees were trying to get him to stop talking while riding in the ambulance.
“They were trying to tell me to stop talking, but between the adrenaline and the fact that I just really didn’t want to die, I just can’t stop,” Spencer said.
While in the hospital, Spencer said the doctors had to give him double doses of medications to get him to sleep.
“There’s a really good chance I just don’t make it if I close my eyes,” Spencer said. “If I stop talking, that will be the last word I ever utter to another human.”
Spencer said the doctors told him his heart stopped multiple times on his first night in the hospital. He was in the hospital for four weeks.
“It was very close to death,” Spencer said. “I did die.”
While in the hospital, Spencer said the doctors told him the stab wound was a millimeter away from his carotid artery and a millimeter away from his spinal cord. He said the doctors pumped his stomach for “a couple of days,” using different tubes to keep him fed and continued to drain blood from the wound.
He remembers seeing his parents and sister in the hospital room during one of their visits. Spencer said he thought there was a very strong chance he wouldn’t make it.
“That wasn’t how I wanted to go out,” Spencer said. “I want there to be a big bang and like smiles and joy. I want to be remembered and loved and have a celebration of life.”
While his family visited, he told them he would be OK and would make it. The next morning he woke up and vomited over half a gallon of blood, but had made it through the night.
“I like to think I’m like a cockroach,” he said. “Just kind of hard to get rid of.”
After Spencer was released from the hospital, he said he was called twice to testify during Ensminger’s two-year trial, but Ensminger was in court only one time when Spencer was called to testify. He said testifying was difficult for him and he never forgot the feeling of helplessness that arose after Ensminger stabbed him. He said he felt angry while looking at Ensminger.
“I made sure to look him in the eyes,” he said.
While testifying, Spencer said he was asked to read a victim statement where he described what happened leading up to Ensminger attacking him.
Spencer said Ensminger’s stepdaughter wanted to visit him while he was in the hospital but was unable to with details arising during the trial and her stepfather.
Ensminger was sentenced to four years in prison after the trial ended in December 2024. Spencer said he was surprised the case went on for two years.
“The case itself, like all the evidence, I was just so surprised it went on for so long,” Spencer said. “All I really have to say is at least he’s in prison.”
Spencer said he doesn’t understand how Ensminger was able to attack him, and as far as he knew, Ensminger did not know Spencer would be at Big Lots the day of the stabbing.
“There was just no reason in your right mind that this just wouldn’t be attempted murder,” Spencer said. “That’s a nine-inch blade and you backed down a minor in a bathroom. I don’t care what your reason was, but at the end of the day, you did try to kill somebody.”
Spencer emphasized the severity of the attack and his inability to protect himself.
“I just remember feeling so helpless,” Spencer said. “Like I just couldn’t defend myself. There was nothing I could do.”
He said while in the hospital he had a breakdown over what had happened, saying he felt weak and felt like giving up.
“I was just tired,” Spencer said. “Not just physically, but it feels like my soul is tired.”
Spencer said he is trying to seek therapy for lingering trauma.
“I want to try to repair some things,” Spencer said. “You know, salvage what I have left and now I want to move forward with a clear goal, like a clear head.”
He said he was able to find some solace in his work as a private landscaper, which helped him feel a sense of productivity and move forward.
“Because everybody’s got their issues and everybody has their problems,” Spencer said. “I want so much more for myself, especially after surviving something like that.”
He said when he typically tells people about being stabbed, they respond with pity and apologies. He would rather people respond without pity.
He appreciates everyone who came to support him and visit him while he was in the hospital.
“I’m actually really grateful for all the people who showed up, whether they had the right intentions or not,” Spencer said. “It was good to see that there’s still some goodness. It made me happy.”
Spencer said four of his closest friends were among those in his hospital room. He said they would sleep on the floor to keep him company.
He said his best friend was often in his hospital room, and that his best friend’s mother came in with his friend one time. Spencer recalled the gift his friend and his mother gave him.
“They gave me $400,” he said.
Spencer said being stabbed altered his life in impactful ways.
“It’s not like it doesn’t affect me,” Spencer said. “Every now and then I look at the scar and I lost a lot of weight.”
Even with how drastically Spencer said the stabbing affected him, he said he was able to gain a perspective that helped him move forward with difficult moments in his life.
“So regardless of how bad it gets, I know now that no matter what it is, it cannot be worse than dying,” Spencer said.
Spencer said he wants to continue training in mixed martial arts and said the “helpless feeling” was a motivator for him to continue his training.
Spencer said he urges others to be careful, and he still experiences racism in Boone to this day. However, Spencer said he wants to keep telling his story as much as he can.
“I will definitely be telling the story for the rest of my life,” he said.
