Denton PD Searching For Man Who Attacked 90-Year-Old
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Denton are searching for the man who on Saturday assaulted an elderly woman living at an assisted living center.
Authorities are asking for the public's help and believe the attacker may have been captured on video.
In the early morning hours of October 8, Elaine Truitt awoke, in her room at the Dogwood Estates Assisted Living Center, to find a man in her room. The man apparently entered the apartment through an unlocked door.
"She woke up to him standing at the end of her bed," explained Denton Police Department Spokesperson Ryan Grelle. "[She] told him to leave. He said, 'I work here' and she knew that he didn't because she'd been there a while and knew all the employees there."
After the conversation the suspect started making demands of the 90-year-old woman. "He said, 'I want some money', and I said, 'they don't let us have any money here', recalled Truitt. "Then he got up on top of the bed covers, with his knees over my legs, and held my arms back and started smothering me with a little pillow."
While Truitt said she was not sexually assaulted, she does think that was her attacker's intention. "He started talking to me and asking me sexual questions, and I think if he could have at the time he would have raped me," she said.
After trying to choke Truitt and ripping the skin on her arms, the attacker stole two TVs and a computer and then left.
The victim described the suspect as a Hispanic male, under 40 years old, but not a teenager. Truitt said her attacker was 'kind of stocky' and was wearing a white shirt and red shorts.
As Denton police began investigating the incident they discovered the suspect might have been at a Hilton Hotel near the assisted living center just minutes before the attack.
"We gave a description of the suspect to [hotel] employees. Employees said, 'well, we saw him in our hotel lobby about 20 minutes to an hour beforehand' and that's where that video is coming from," explained Grelle.
Police say the person seen in the surveillance video was in the hotel attempting to sell drugs and had tried to force his way into several rooms before a hotel guest confronted him and 'ran him off' the property.
*** Watch the hotel surveillance video below ***
Truitt said her attacker was inside her apartment for around an hour.
Police believe the suspect is possibly driving a newer model four-door Chevy Impala or similar car with dark-tinted windows.
Anyone with information about the assault case or the person seen in the hotel surveillance video is asked to contact Denton police at (940) 349-8181.
