Victim Tells Good Samaritan: 'He Hit Me With A Hammer, Tried Lighting Me On Fire'
(CBS) – The man accused of beating a woman and then trying to burn her alive in a Joliet home is being held at the Will County Jail on $2 million bond.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot talked with a person who helped the victim.
Timothy Gregory is charged with battery in the attack on Amanda Zelko, his brother's fiancée.
Prosecutors say Gregory used a hammer to attack Zelko, punched and kicked her, then pushed her into the bathroom before setting it on fire.
Good Samaritan Ryan Flannery describes how he came upon the victim in front of the burning home while he was passing by on Infantry Drive.
"I asked her what happened, and she said that she was dying. 'He hit me with a hammer. The house is on fire. He tried lighting me on fire.'"
He said blood was everywhere.
"I got my blankets and stuff and tried covering her up," Flannery says.
The victim was bleeding from multiple wounds, he says.
"He probably hit her at least like six times in the head with the hammer. It was horrible."
Minutes later, Flannery says, Gregory came out of the garage. Flannery says he warned Gregory to stay away.
"It was sad because I was yelling for help and people just kept driving by, just kept driving by. It was insane. I just hope she makes it through and her whole family," Flannery says.
A family member tells CBS 2 Zelko, who is in a coma, is expected to recover from her serious wounds.
A GoFundMe page was launched on Monday with a $10,000 fundraising goal for Zelko and her fiancé, Scott. As of Thursday afternoon, $4,240 had been donated to the cause.
