Married Lesbian Couple Allege Security Team Just Watched and Filmed Brutal Attack in Michigan
The two were attacked along with one of the women’s queer brother and his fiance.
Two queer couples in Michigan have filed a lawsuit against MGM Grand following an attack they suffered at the hands of a Texas man in July 2025.
Celia Haueter and Chelsi Way, both 30, were assaulted by William Wilson outside the MGM Grand Detroit casino after a concert they had attended along with Way’s brother, Zachary Chearhart, and his fiancé, David Supal, Detroit News reports. Before the attack, he had called them homophobic slurs. Wilson eventually pled guilty to assaulting them and was sentenced to two years’ probation in March.
In their lawsuit, the couples claim that instead of helping them during the attack, casino security guards not only didn’t stop the violence, but they took out their phones and filmed the assault.
Haueter was knocked unconscious, suffering a traumatic brain injury and severe concussion from the blow, according to the outlet.
“We’re in fear, because as you know, gay couples going out in public, we’re always in fear anyway, and then this stuff happens,” Way told the Detroit News.
The assault happened as the two couples were waiting for the valet to bring them their car. Wilson and a still-unknown man came up to them, they told the paper. The couples say they told the men they were just trying to go home.
“I want to say the reason why he did come to us and try to start stuff with us is we were holding hands and they were holding hands,” Way told Fox 2 Detroit in 2025. “Then he comes over to David and tries to do the same thing, and David is like, ‘No, we are good,’ and that’s when everything turned into a disaster.”
Wilson recorded the couples with his phone and hit Way with it. Her brother went to get help inside the MGM, but they just recorded the attack, Way said.
MGM Grand did not respond the paper’s request for comment.
Wilson hit Haueter repeatedly in her face, which gave her a split lip and black eye.
“She gets up again, and then (Wilson) hits her again, and then at that point she keeps going a little bit forward, and they hit her one more time, and then she’s on the ground, face planted, busted her head open,” Way said. “So there’s blood everywhere, and the only thing MGM did was bring a rolling chair and a piece of paper towel. … There were so many men out there, and all of these people that were working in the valet are just recording, and the only people that even tried to help us were the people, the patrons that were standing outside.”
She said Wilson tried to escape once he knocked Haueter out, but she chased him.
“I used to work for Detroit Fire, so I know when you can’t find the person … no one’s ever gonna get any justice,” Way said, according to the outlet. “We’re standing at the corner, and he’s standing there trying to order an Uber. He turns around, he looks at me, he’s like, ‘Oh, I just knocked out one f—–. You want it too?'”
She eventually was able to stay with him as police arrived, who were guided by her brother to her location.
Wilson ran off again, and Way chased him, ultimately cornering him three miles away with the Detroit police officers Chearhart was directing to her location.
The couple has launched a GoFundMe to support Haueter’s recovery.
“Since the attack, Celia has struggled to regain her health and sense of normalcy, but the trauma has made everyday life challenging,” the fundraiser said. It said the attack left her with memory issues, PTSD, and severe anxiety.
The couples’ suit claims that the casino didn’t have enough security and that the casino also gave Wilson alcohol even after he was drunk.
“It’s a terrible, traumatic brain injury as a result of this brutal attack,” the couples’ attorney, Jim Rasor, told the Detroit News. “The most shocking part of this is not only the assailant’s hatred toward this married lesbian couple, but the casino’s abject failure after seeing what was going on.”
Rasor added: “Security knew; they were watching what was happening. They had a duty to call the police and monitor the premises, a duty to take reasonable steps if they knew of violent criminal behavior on their premises. They did nothing. … This is not the first time. This is not the second time. They know their facilities are dangerous and they’re doing nothing to keep their patrons safe, not even calling the police.”
In addition to MGM Grand, the women are suing Wilson over the attack.
“I think that they let him off easy, and I think that he should have gotten way more than he did,” Way told the paper. “It still makes me sick to this day, honestly.”
