Police in Northwest Baltimore are looking for a suspect who attacked a 90-year-old woman inside her own home.
It happened in the 4500 block of Garden Drive in Park Heights
There are many long-time residents on the block; neighbors say the victim had been living in her home for at least 40 years.
“She was just a sweetheart. Little old lady, speaks to everybody, she was really nice. Little frail old lady. She would pick the weeds out of the grass, fix her flowers and stuff. She was a sweetheart,” said Cheryl David, whose mother lives a few doors down.
The victim retired from the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills, and neighbors say she often left money out in the open around her home.
Randy Alston's parents also live down the block.. He usually checks in on the victim when he visits them.
Wednesday morning he noticed the window on the back door was broken, so he went inside.
“When I walked to her dining room she was laying on the floor,” he said.
Alston called 911; when rescue crews got there, he says they told him she had been tied up and beaten.
“And then when paramedics and police come, saying she'd been hit in the head and she was tied up. I said huh?. Why would you beat her up; she's 90 years old. I mean if you'd ask her for it she would give it to you. That's how she is,” Alston said.
He also says she had another break-in a few months ago.
Police say they're still trying to figure out what happened, and what - if anything - was taken.
They also don't know exactly when the break-in happened, and how long the victim had to wait for help to come.
“I really can't even describe in words what they found inside the home. Our officers found a 90-year-old woman who had been brutally assaulted and essentially left for dead,” said Det. Jeremy Silbert, a spokesman for the Baltimore City Police Department.
Neighbors say they're making sure their doors are locked. They say they're hoping the victim can recover -- and that police can find out who attacked the woman.
“It's got to be a monster. It's got to be a monster because she's an old lady. And she's a sweetheart and she's frail, but she's feisty,” David said.
The victim is listed in critical but stable condition. If you have any idea who might have broken into that home in Park Heights you're asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1 (866) 7-LOCKUP.
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