Woman was bound, assaulted

June 17, 2007

Adapted from the Reading Eagle

Police say they are making headway into the search for a man who savagely attacked a woman last week before binding her — naked and bleeding — to a pair of trees in a secluded spot.

While no arrest has been made in the case, the police chief said a lead suspect has emerged.

The victim, a 48-year-old woman, told police an unknown man stabbed her, tied her wrists to two trees and sexually assaulted her in a weedy and woodsy area.

The woman suffered several serious stab wounds to her throat, including one that injured her larynx.

The victim has been recovering from her injuries at the hospital.

She gave investigators a "fairly good" description of her attacker, said the chief, "and based on that, we're looking at a couple of suspects, one that we consider a prime suspect."

A detective, who talked with the victim for about two hours at the hospital, said the woman shared a convincing and detailed account of the attack.

She said she did not know her assailant; however, she recalled having seen him before in her travels around the area.

The woman said she met up with the man in the woodsy area. He invited her to smoke marijuana with him. That area of the city is marked by tall weeds, overgrown grass, and trees.

The woman told police that after sharing a joint and as she was leaving, the man jumped her from behind. He pulled out a folding-type knife and started stabbing her in the throat.

The attacker removed the woman's clothes and used the laces on her own boots to bind each wrist to a tree. The man, after sexually assaulting the victim, left her tied up.

Despite her injuries to her throat, the woman was able to yell for help.

Three boys riding bicycles near the railroad tracks heard the screams, found the woman and called 911.

Neither the woman nor police know how long she had been tied up, before help arrived. Investigators, however, noted the woman's blood had already begun to coagulate.

The detective said the women's clothes were gone when officers got there. The victim did not see whether her attacker took her clothes with him.

She was taken to one hospital then flown by medical helicopter to another one.

Police have had numerous interviews since finding the woman, speaking to the victim's friends and acquaintances and anyone who possibly was in the area at or around the time of the attack. The interviews have provided few clues about the assault or the assailant, police said.