Cedar Rapids Police hope a vehicle that’s been recovered in Arkansas can provide more clues about two men who beat and sexually assaulted a 70-year-old woman in her home.
On October 1, 2009, two black men broken into the elderly woman’s home in Cedar Rapids and demanded money. When she didn’t get them any cash, they beat her severely. Then, according to police, while one of the men searched the house, the other sexually assaulted the 70-year-old. The men took the victim’s car. The car was found in North Little Rock, Arkansas, last Friday.
“We would love to find these two — and I don’t use the word gentleman in this case — we would like to find these two thugs because that’s the only word I can say on the radio that’s going to be decent,” Cedar Rapids Police Sergeant Cristy Hamblin said during an interview with Radio Iowa.
The police report indicates it took over an hour at the hospital to stitch up the elderly woman’s wounds after the attack. The victim described the suspects as slender black men. Both were wearing black hoodies and black pants. They stole the woman’s 2004 Chrysler Sebring. Hamblin said the police department in Little Rock has conducted some tests on the car, and they’re waiting to hear if any usable fingerprints have been recovered.
“We haven’t given up. We want to find them and we want to hold them accountable,” Hamblin said, “not just for the victim, but for the community as well.”
The elderly woman told police she was sleeping on the couch when the men kicked in the door to her home. She was able to call police at about 3 a.m., after the men had left in her car.