Fort Worth PD: Man attacked 83-year-old woman before stealing truck

FORT WORTH, Texas - Police are looking for the man who they say attacked an elderly woman in Fort Worth and stole her son’s truck.

The 83-year-old woman was at home with her dying husband when she tried to fight off the thief that attacked when she tried to call for help. The man came in through a door that was left unlocked for the hospice worker she was expecting early in the morning at her son's home in Fort Worth.

Suzy Alummuttil says she has a scrape on her leg from trying to get to the front door so quickly after the attack on December 10. The video of the suspect is very clear. The whole thing only took about five minutes.

“He came slowly. Not in a hurry,” she recalled. “He came through that way."

Suzy is ok but still frightened of the man who she says attacked her last Monday morning. Her son had just installed a doorbell video camera two days prior. It caught clear video of the man knocking and then just walking in. The door was unlocked for a hospice nurse that was on their way over to care for her dying husband.

Once inside, Suzy says the man opened doors and cabinets while she and her husband were in bed only a few feet away. That's when she spoke up.

"And I asked him who are you? What do you want? Who are you? Tell me your name. Tell me your name,” she recalled. “He didn't say anything to me."

Suzy says her initial call to 911 didn't go through so she quickly dialed her son, Saji Alummuttil. That's when she says the man tried to wrestle the phone away from her.

"All I could hear was some sort of struggle. That's the best I could explain it as,” Saji recalled. “So of course, I'm in panic mode."

When the attacker couldn't get the phone, he left and took the keys to Saji’s truck.

The attack happened on West 5th Street, which is just down the street from the busy entertainment district on West 7th.

As Mrs. Alummuttil tried to deal with the trauma of what happened, there was more sadness for her. The day after the attack, her husband of 52 years passed away. She wanted to tell her story in hopes the man in the video will be caught.

"We want to find this person,” said Fort Worth Police Officer Tracy Carter. “Luckily, we were very blessed that nothing else happened to her, but we want to bring this person to justice."

"It's 6 so it's still kind of dark, but it's not midnight,” Saji said. “And this is the cultural district, so it's very surprising that someone could be this bold to try to steal or whatever they were up to."

The stolen truck is a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with Texas license plate #04W XL9.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect is urged to call Fort Worth PD at (817) 392-4730.