Man suspected in vicious attack on Bellevue woman arrested

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A 42-year-old man suspected of attacking a Bellevue woman in her apartment was arrested Tuesday.

According to police records, the man, who the woman said she did not know, walked into her apartment while her 8-year-old daughter was home and she was asleep upstairs.

The man reportedly knocked on the woman’s door, which may have been unlocked, and entered the apartment while the 8-year-old was downstairs in the living room. He then ran up the stairs and found the woman, who was sleeping in her daughter’s bedroom, records stated.

The girl told police that moments after the man entered, she hid behind the couch.

Records also state that after she heard her mom scream, she ran upstairs and saw the man over her mom with what she thought was a knife in his hands. The girl then ran to a neighbor who called 911.

When police arrived at the scene, they announced themselves, asking for anyone upstairs to come down with their hands up.

Police said the woman came down running and was “extremely hysterical” as she collapsed in the grass and asked where her daughter was and if she was safe.

Moments later the man came running down and told police he was at his girlfriend’s apartment, who police said he could not name, documents stated.

According to police records, the woman said the man had forced himself on her and had even placed his hands around her throat during the attack. She told police he had threatened to kill her if she said anything and had threatened her daughter’s life if she left the apartment.

The woman was taken to Overlake Hospital, where she underwent a sexual assault examination.

The woman later told investigators that the man had threatened to rape and kill her daughter if she did not cooperate with him during the incident, police records state. She said she agreed to go along with what he demanded — “such as his insistence that they would get married and be together” — so that her daughter would be safe.

The woman told police that the man put something on her skin that caused it to burn, police records state.

Police said that during an interview with the man, he had repeatedly stated that he needed to speak with his girlfriend, so they could talk about their future together.

Cox Media Group