Elderly Woman Found Beaten, Sexually Assaulted In Richmond
RICHMOND (CBS SF) -- An elderly woman who was found beaten in Richmond on Saturday morning remains in critical but stable condition Tuesday, a police lieutenant said.
Police have also confirmed that the 81-year-old woman, who was found outside a Big O Tires store at 10733 San Pablo Ave., was sexually assaulted, Lt. Bisa French said.
Art Ochoa, the store's manager, said he was moving a car to a back parking lot around 9:15 a.m. Saturday, about an hour after the shop opened, when he saw someone lying behind a stack of old tires, he said.
At first, he thought the victim was a homeless person who had stopped to rest there.
"I was going to tell them to leave, but when I got closer I noticed her coat and clothes covered in blood," he recalled.
Ochoa said he asked the woman if she needed help, but she could only nod.
He then realized that her face was bloodied and her eyes swollen shut, he said.
"I ran inside the store and dialed 911," he said.
Officers arrived while Ochoa was still on the phone, and the woman was transported to a hospital a short time later.
The store manager said that during his four and a half years at the tire shop, he has not seen any violence in the neighborhood.
"It's a very quiet area," he said.
Police have not identified any suspects in the case and are urging anyone with any information about the crime to come forward.
French said the woman often takes walks around the neighborhood where she lives, not far from where she was found Saturday.
"When you have an 81-year-old victim who is beaten almost to death, it's such a heinous crime it even stunned the police officer, who is used to dealing with some of these types of crimes—we really want to solve this one," French said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Richmond Police Department at (510) 620-6643.
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