A 71-year-old California grandmother who opened her home to a stranger is now fighting for her life after police say she was brutally attacked with a baseball bat while she slept.
Therese Garcia of Crestline had taken in Erik Eduardo Navarro, 26, after he showed up at her doorstep claiming all his belongings were stolen and he needed a place to stay before a job interview, according to her family.
For two weeks, Garcia cooked for him every night and believed she was helping a “sweet kid” who had hit a rough patch.
But the situation reportedly took a dark turn when Navarro began making demands and taking over her home, the family said.
When Garcia told him on August 25 that it was time to leave, authorities allege he grabbed a metal baseball bat and attacked her as she slept.
Her family described the horrifying ordeal in a GoFundMe post.
“She was in and out of consciousness, and every time she woke up, he would beat her again,” they wrote. “This lasted for hours. He stopped only after she completely lost consciousness and apparently believed she was dead.”
Navarro then allegedly took her phone, credit cards, keys, e-bike and other belongings before fleeing.
The grandmother suffered a laceration to her forehead, a cut eyebrow, swollen hands and a swollen orbital area so severe she could barely see, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.
Her family says she spent days vomiting blood and may need facial surgery. Photos from the hospital show her in a neck brace, with still-swollen eyes and a cast on her arm.
As of this week, Garcia remains hospitalized. She is medically stable but does not have health insurance and is still in immense pain, dizzy, exhausted and struggling with the effects of a brain injury, her family shared.
Navarro has not been located. Police consider him a suspect in a battery with serious bodily injury case. His image has been released, showing him with brown hair and brown eyes.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Twin Peaks Station at 909-336-0660.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with her medical expenses. Her family wrote, “Please keep my mom in your prayers. Pray for her healing, her strength, her vision, her recovery, and for the person responsible to be found.”
How could someone repay such kindness with such violence?
