KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
Police said a man allegedly broke into a neighbor's home, tied her up and assaulted her, then he drove off in her car.
Police said it was a big break in the case. They saw a suspicious car drive past the crime scene three times so they decided to follow it to a nearby apartment complex. The officers found the victim's stolen SUV there and they took the driver into custody.
"This is really scary," Pam said.
Pam and her daughter Destiny didn't want to use their last name, but said they are still shaken after their frantic neighbor came to their doorstep Tuesday morning for help, saying she had been raped and robbed in her home.
"I was in the room getting ready for school and my momma said, ‘Do you hear someone screaming?' I said, ‘Yeah, I do.' I looked out the window and said, ‘There's a lady in the front yard,'" Destiny said.
"I said, 'What can I do for you?' And she told me, 'I've been raped, and I've been robbed,' then I let her in. I called 911, and I actually unbound her - she was still bound," Pam said.
The victim described to them the horrific ordeal after an intruder busted the front window of her living room just as she was leaving for work at 6:30 a.m. The woman said she was getting ready for work when she heard a noise in her house, but didn't think much of it. However, it turned out to be an intruder.
"He hit her in the back of the head with something. Held something to her neck and said if she tried anything or tried to call police he would shoot her," Pam said the woman told them.
After sexually assaulting the victim, the suspect took off in her SUV and the woman ran to the neighbor's for help. They then called police about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to report the attack in the 11300 block of Bennington Avenue.
As police were collecting evidence at the house, officers spotted a cream-colored car drive past the crime scene numerous times and it caught their attention.
"We observed the vehicle drive by the scene three times and about the third time officers got suspicious - the car was going slow and the driver was looking at the crime scene," Officer Darin Snapp with the Kansas City, MO, Police Department said.
Officers followed the car to the Ruskin Place Apartments, which is only a block away from the victim's house. There officers found the woman's stolen SUV. The driver was then handcuffed and taken in for questioning.
"This is just a person of interest. But it was a perfect spot for someone to walk over to the house, commit the crime, and get out pretty quick," Snapp said.
Residents like Pam are relieved to hear that just hours after the crime was committed police had someone in custody.
"Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. They have someone in custody. Thank you Jesus. Maybe I can sleep tonight," Pam said.
The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. Police said she did not get a look at her attacker because he was wearing a ski mask.
Police said the suspect was released the following day pending further investigation and they are awaiting forensic test results.
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