Watch CBS News

Woman, 80, Speaks After Violent Robbery In Broad Daylight In Central Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Beaten, but still brave, an 80-year-old woman was talking Monday about a terrifying attack in Central Park.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, the woman said she was taking her daily walk around 12:20 p.m. Friday when she was grabbed from behind. Police said she might not be the only victim of the same attacker.

"Somebody came up from the back and hugged me, at first I thought it was someone who wanted to say hello," the woman said.

But it didn't take long for the woman to figure out she was wrapped in the arms of a person who didn't want to hug her -- he wanted to mug her.

"And then I realize he was trying to choke me and I said, 'Oh, that's not a friend," the woman said.

The somewhat soft-spoken woman, who has taken walks in Central Park alone during the day for years, did not want to show her face when she recounted the scary story. But she did describe how her attacker punched her and pushed her into the bushes near 106th Street and Central Park West around noontime Friday.

All the while, the suspect demanded everything she had.

"All I had was my iPhone in my pocket," she said. "As he threw me on the ground, I put up a fight, picked up my legs and tried to kick him, and I was screaming, screaming like a mad woman," she said.

The screams eventually scared the assailant away, though he did take the woman's phone. Three days later, she told CBS2's Layton her attacker was a lightweight.

"His punches weren't really much to talk about," she said. "It really didn't hurt me physically, but I was angry and annoyed."

She still is annoyed, and she is thinking about what she'll say to the man if and when police find him.

"I would say shame on him -- that's what I would say," the woman said. "He messed with the wrong person. He barked up the wrong tree."

Police late Monday were searching for a man suspected in attacks on two women in Central Park in broad daylight – one of them 80 years old.

Police said the attack may be part of a larger robbery pattern around Central Park. Minutes before the 80-year-old woman was attacked, police believe the same suspect assaulted and tried to rob a 38-year-old taking photos in the park near West 100th Street.

Police said the woman pretended to be deaf. He said, "I'm sorry" and even "God bless you" before taking off six blocks north. That was where he found the older woman.

The 80-year-old victim, who is barely 5 feet tall, said the attacker was about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a thin build, in his 20s, and wearing a dark-colored jacket.

She also said she asked three different people for help until a fourth woman finally called 911 for her. She thinks the woman who called 911 is named Juliet, and wanted to thank her Monday.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.