Suspect allegedly broke into house in Bethesda and attacked two women who are considered incapable of standing trial
Suspect allegedly broke into house in Bethesda and attacked two women who are considered incapable of standing trial
FOX 5 is following two women who experienced a gruesome attack in their Bethesda home after a woman broke in and attacked both of them. The suspect was in court Tuesday afternoon and the victims also appeared.
BETHESDA, Maryland. – FOX 5 is following two women who experienced a gruesome attack in their Bethesda home after a woman broke in and attacked both of them. The suspect was in court Tuesday afternoon and the victims also appeared.
The suspect, 40-year-old Latoya Owens, was remanded in custody without bail because she was declared unfit to stand trial and the case was adjourned until January.
She previously lived in Northern Virginia and Alabama, but her alleged victims in Montgomery County are now trying to make sense of it all.
“When she hit us, my mom and I said, ‘You know, all of a sudden you imagine it all happening again, and it’s messing up my life and our lives,'” Kristen said.
FOX 5 met with Kristen and her mother, Linda, in Montgomery County District Court on Tuesday, just over a week after they were victims of a horrific attack in what appears to have been a random break-in at their Bethesda home.
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“So I opened the door and she asked, ‘Does Jean Paul live here?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t know any Jean Paul,’ and I locked it,” Kristen told FOX 5 the day after the attack. “And I called 911 and then I came here and tried to lock it and she just blew the door open. She just blew the doors open, grabbed me and started beating me.”
It happened on a Sunday evening at 8 p.m.
“The emotional part of healing is going to take some time. We’re definitely healing physically,” Kristen said. “When I allow myself to think about it, it’s when I’m alone and it kind of creeps into my head. I can hear the pounding on my head and it echoes in my ear. That’s what it felt like when it happened.”
Kristen and Linda say they have experienced an outpouring of support since the attack.
“We’ve gotten flowers and homemade cookies and you know, just emails and little notes about how sorry they are and how shocked they are that this happened,” Linda said.
Linda and Kristen are not only concerned for her well-being, but also hope that their alleged attacker gets the psychiatric treatment she so desperately needs.
“I feel terrible for her. I told my mom yesterday in the kitchen and I was like, … we feel bad, but she’s in jail right now. This can’t be easy, but it’s the only thing that actually makes me feel safe,” Kristen said. “I want 100% for her to get help. This is the best thing for our community.”
