A West Plains parent who allowed a stranger to stay in his home says the kind gesture turned into a gruesome act.

We first told you yesterday about a seven year old boy who was found barely breathing in a bath tub full of freezing water. The boy was sexually assaulted and beaten.

KSPR talked to the stepfather, Greg Krauter, who was stabbed in his own home moments after his son was attacked.

Krauter says, "The first thing he was trying to do was kill me and do it quietly."

Krauter says he was attacked by Jeremy Dean Vowell or J.D. A complete stranger he allowed to stay in his home. J.D. was a friend of Krauter's roommate.

Krauter says, “Brad said he was a good guy who needed a place to stay." Now Krauter says that good guy did the unthinkable to his step-son. He says, “I cried when I saw him."

Krauter's stepson was found in a bath tub of freezing water badly bruised, sodomized and hardly breathing. Krauter says he extremely regrets allowing Vowel to stay.

The twisted story gets worse. The first time Krauter searched for his stepson he only found Vowell in the tub. Krauter says, “It was my understanding he was on top of him." Krauter says before he could find the boy Vowell attacked him with a knife. Krauter says, “He was trying to stab me in the face." Krauter broke free. He says, “My first instinct was to run outside for a phone." Then he says the story gets blurry. Krauter says police, his mom and then emergency responders filled the home.

Unbelievably, the boy survived. He was released from the hospital to someone else.

Krauter says, “The last time I heard about him, he didn't remember anything. I hope he never does." Now the stepfather faces tough questions from the community. Krauter says, “They just look at me like how could you possibly walk around without crying all the time.”

Krauter wishes he took the advice he now gives. He says, “If you meet someone even if you know them extremely well keep an eye on him around your kids."

Krauter doesn't know if he'll ever see his step son again. He says, “I hurt constantly in my heart. I don't show it on the outside."

Krauter says his stepson has recovered and is staying with his biological father whom KSPR could not reach.

The Department of Social Services can't confirm where the boy is staying. Vowell will be in court on Monday.