A Georgia woman was brutally burned when a stranger poured a toxic chemical over her while she was walking through a park — and her attacker remains at large.
Ashley Wasielewski, 46, was walking laps around Savannah’s Forsyth Park Wednesday night after attending a Christmas program at a nearby church when a stranger suddenly attacked her from behind, dousing her head with a corrosive liquid, according to her devastated friends and family.
She screamed in terror as the chemical seared her skin, ate through her clothes, and even melted the key fob in her pocket.
On December 10, 2025, Ashley Wasielewski was doused with a toxic chemical in a random attack, suffering severe burns to her face and body. AP
Ashley Wasielewski was walking laps around Savannah’s Forsyth Park when a stranger suddenly attacked her. GoFundMe
“She was instantly like, ‘Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then her skin started to burn,” her close friend Connor Milam said Wasielewski was a generous soul, often volunteering in her community and providing essential items to those in need.
“She looked down and her pants were starting to burn off her body. She started screaming. They didn’t rob her. They didn’t take anything from her. This was a random person in the park who went out of their way to disfigure another human being.”
Wasielewski was rushed to the Augusta Burn Center, where she is being treated for second- and third-degree burns covering half her body—including her face, scalp, hands, and legs—her son Westley said.
Her worried son said he first learned of the attack from a good Samaritan who rushed to his mother’s aid, adding that he could hear her wailing in agony over the phone.
“We don’t know who did it,” Westley said.
“She doesn’t have any enemies. She is a friend to everyone.”
Wasielewski was rushed to the Augusta Burn Center, where she is being treated for second- and third-degree burns covering half her body—including her face, scalp, hands, and legs. WJCL
Authorities are searching for a person of interest last seen on surveillance footage wearing blue jeans and a dark hooded sweatshirt featuring a white cartoon rabbit. Facebook
No arrests have been made as local police, working alongside the FBI, try to identify the chemical used in the brutal attack and track down the dangerous assailant. Extra patrols have also been deployed to city parks.
Authorities are searching for a person of interest last seen on surveillance footage wearing blue jeans and a dark hooded sweatshirt featuring a white cartoon rabbit.
"Our Police Department is treating this case with the highest urgency," Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said in a Facebook post Thursday.
Before the attack, Wasielewski had attended a Christmas program at a nearby church. WJCL
“While this attack is deeply troubling, there is currently no information indicating a broader or ongoing threat to the public.”
