Police: Suspect Surrenders In Beating Caught On Tape In Front Of 2-Year-Old
SALEM, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A woman surrendered to police in South Jersey Monday, in connection with an attack on another woman that was caught on video as the victim's 2-year-old son tried to defend his mother.
Latia Harris, 25, turned herself in to Salem City police around 7 p.m. Monday, following an extensive search for her whereabouts, CBS Philly reported.
Salem City police partnered with the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit and the U.S. Marshal's New Jersey/New York Regional Fugitive Task-force in an effort to locate Harris, CBS Philly reported.
The video shows the suspect, dressed in a McDonald's uniform, pummeling the mother in the face and kicking her in the back along a trail behind a McDonald's in Salem on Tuesday night as several bystanders watch and videotape the attack.
The victim, identified as 27-year-old Catherine Ferreira, falls to the ground and while on the ground, the suspect punches the victim approximately 20 times.
The suspect is also heard threatening to attack the victim's 2-year-old son, Xavion, who kicked the suspect's legs in an attempt to stop the attack.
At one point during the video, the suspect can be heard saying: "You better get your son before I kick him in the face too!"
At the end of the video, the suspect leans in and appears to spit on the victim while she was on the ground.
"I could have been dead right now. Had she hit me in the right spot, it would have been over -- over nothing. McDonald's isn't worth it; a guy isn't worth it. This is more serious than you're even comprehending," Ferreira told KYW-TV, CBS 3 in Philadelphia.
On her 2-year-old son fighting Harris and being the only one to try to intervene, Ferreira told CBS Philly: "After that I became so much closer to my son because he didn't care what was going on. He wasn't afraid, he just wanted to defend his mom. That's my world right there, I love that boy so much."
WARNING: Video contains extreme violence and profane language
Ferreira used to work at the same McDonald's. She told KYW-TV the fight was over workplace gossip, and she admitted she talked to others about Harris' romantic life. But she said she never expected what ended up happening.
Harris faces charges of aggravated assault and two counts of terroristic threats, CBS Philly reported.
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