Mall attack victim's dad says she suffered multiple broken bones in jaw
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The father of a woman who was found brutally beaten inside a restroom at Memorial City Mall said she suffered multiple broken bones to her jaw.
Speaking exclusively to Eyewitness News, the father, who did not give his name, said his daughter's face is swollen and she is in pain.
"It was a brutal, vicious attack. It could have happened to anybody. It was shocking," said the victim's father.
Despite the circumstances, the victim's father saw some encouraging signs in her recovery.
"When she was not sedated, she was very lucid, very communicative, surprisingly upbeat," said the father.
He said he was extremely grateful to Ashley Hill, who discovered the woman in the restroom Sunday morning. He called her a hero.
For Hill, a change in morning exercise plans because of the weather led Ashley Hill to Memorial City Mall the morning that the victim was found.
As she walked around the mall, she took a restroom break around 8:30 a.m.
What she saw next is a vision she can't get out of her head.
She said she saw a woman face down in a pool of blood near the sinks, moaning for help.
"She was missing at least one or more teeth, she was bleeding from every side of her head I could see, out of her ears. She was in really bad shape," said Hill.
Houston police say the 31-year-old victim was approached from behind by a man who had made a rope from a trash bag and wrapped it around her neck, choking her until she lost consciousness. They also say the victim was repeatedly kicked.
Hill said, "It looked like a commercial trash bag liner. She had some consistent marks on her neck that maybe that was used on her. Horrible."
The good Samaritan also says the victim told her she worked at the mall. She had tried screaming for help but noise from a nearby hockey practice at the mall ice rink may have drowned her cries out. She also says the victim indicated she didn't know the man, nothing had been taken from her and she didn't believe she had been sexually assaulted.
"Something is driving a lot of rage inside someone to hurt someone that bad," said Hill.
She stayed with the victim at the hospital until her family arrived.
Police say the suspect ran out of the mall and through the parking lot before getting away on a METRO bus southbound on Gessner Street..
"I would ask that everybody try to keep this woman in their prayers and a speedy recovery," said Hill.
She says she's been in touch with the victim's family and told ABC13 she was transferred to the main medical center and has been in surgery.
The suspect is described only as a black male, 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and 160 to 180 pounds.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the HPD Major Assaults Unit at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
