Suspect Arrested For Beating 94-Year-Old Woman With Wrench During Home Invasion

A 94-year-old woman was brutally beaten with a wrench during a home invasion on Tuesday by an unknown intruder. Several tips have led to the arrest of a suspect.

According to WSBT News 22, Breanna Thomas, 23, is accused of a home invasion and possibly beating the 94-year-old victim while attempting to break into the home on Juniper Road in South Bend, Indiana. Thomas is facing charges of robbery and fraud at this time. Charges related to the beating will be looked at in the near future.

The victim, who has not yet been named since accomplices may still be on the loose, was taken to the hospital after the home invasion with injuries that include a broken hand, cuts on her arms, and pain in her back from being shoved to the floor, according to WNDU channel 16.

The incident occurred before 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Multiple officers responded to the call hoping to scour the neighborhood and apprehend the assailants before they got away. However, the search was unsuccessful at the time.

Greg Humnicky, a neighbor of the victim, claims he has not seen anything like it in all the years he has lived in the area.

“It’s the worst thing in the 33 years that I’ve been here.”

The victim was just returning from the grocery store when the home invasion occurred. She entered her garage and closed the door before getting out of the car and making her way inside with the groceries. She was unaware that there were intruders in her home. She revealed that she opened the door to the breezeway between the garage and house to be welcomed by a “lanky black man.”

The suspect proceeded to snatch her purse and beat her with a wrench, shoving her to the ground in the process. It has not been confirmed whether items inside the house were stolen. However, credit cards and cash inside the purse were taken during the home invasion.

Lt. William Redman spoke out about the home invasion and ensured the community that they take any crimes against the elderly very serious.

“Anytime an elderly victim is involved it is a top priority for us. especially being physically struck yesterday multiple times. So that escalates the situation for us.”

Redman revealed that neighbors have sighted strangers going door-to-door in the neighborhood recently and gave descriptions to the police, hoping they could be connected to the home invasion subjects.

“Any time we have that we’re trying to get as much information as we can. If there are videos later that we obtain that’ll help us piece together from the physical description that was given to us by several of the neighbors here in the area.”

In the days following the home invasion, unauthorized charges were reported on the stolen credit cards. Authorities hoped to obtain video surveillance of the purchases in an attempt to identify the suspects. As a result, police were led to Breanna Thomas as a main suspect. Although the victim reported her attacker to be a “lanky black man,” it is unsure whether Thomas was the assailant or if there she was just an accomplice to the crime.

Police are still on the lookout for other suspects that may be tied to the home invasion. They are hopeful that Thomas’ arrest will lead to their apprehension, although no other suspects have been revealed as of yet.

Thomas has been held in the St. Joseph County Jail with a $5,000 bond for robbery. A court date has not yet been scheduled.

The 94-year-old victim is recovering from her injuries and is expected to be okay, without permanent damage.

[Image via Blackday/Shutterstock]