Disabled Woman Terrorized, Kittens Killed By Intruders
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DEERFIELD BEACH (CBSMiami) -- A disabled woman, alone in her home, suffered through some frightening and sad moments and now police are searching for those responsible.
Broward Sheriff's Deputies said the 61-year old was at her Deerfield Beach home Thursday afternoon when two men stormed in through a sliding glass door.
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The crime happened inside the gated Waterways community of S.W. 10th Street near the Turnpike.
"It was scary," victim Deborah Plasse told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana. "They told me that if I didn't give them the cash in the house, or any expensive jewelry, that they were going to kill animals."
Plasse said one man called her a "crazy cat lady."
The men, wearing hoods and Halloween masks, already carried with them two of her kittens they had killed outside. The move was meant to show her they were serious, according to deputies.
"According to the victim, they were three weeks old and she was shown the deceased animals. They were limp in the suspect's hands," said Broward Sheriff's Det. Vincent Coldwell.
Investigators said the intruders became aggressive with the woman who is hardly able to walk.
"She was alone. She's physically handicapped. They knocked her to the ground," said Coldwell.
Gary Williams said he heard a faint cry for help from across the street.
He ran over to investigate.
"I said, 'Oh my God! What happened?' and she said, 'We were robbed!'" he explained.
He said he called 911 and tried to console her until authorities and paramedics arrived.
"They basically abused her," Williams said. "And she said 'They spray painted me' and that's when I could see the white paint across her abdomen which is disgusting. I mean, who would do this, you know?"
Investigators say the men used shards of broken glass to cut Plasse's face, arm and abdomen, all while demanding valuables.
After ransacking her home, they got away with a small grey safe with her medication inside and also took the dead kittens.
The victim told investigators a third man was waiting outside the house.
Deputies said the ordeal lasted 30 minutes to an hour. The victim had to be taken to the hospital for superficial cuts and bruises, but went back Friday for additional treatment related to her multiple sclerosis.
Now investigators are asking for the public's help to find the culprits.
Deputies said one of the men was a short, white man who spoke proper English and wore a dark blue, hooded sweatshirt. The second man was taller and spoke with a Spanish accent. He wore a black, hooded sweatshirt. Both seemed to be in their late teens or early 20s.
People who live nearby are stunned by the attack and wonder how such deranged criminals got by security.
"I think the attack is barbaric..how they got in is what concerns me more than the attack. They never should have got in. If they got in. If they never got in the attack wouldn't have happened," said a neighbor who identified himself as Ed.
"Boys that would hurt an animal, there's just something wrong," Plasse said.
Plasse said she has nothing to say to the men who left her bloody and terrified, and neither does her neighbor.
"I wouldn't talk to them. I'd take 'em, basically the way I was taught, I'd take 'em out to the woodshed," Williams said.
Anyone with information in the case is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493- TIPS.
