On 25th November the woman aged 96 years, who was bedridden and unable to leave, was surprised by the thief, who took advantage of the key being in the door of the room to enter. The culprit punched the old woman’s left eye with a lighter, set fire to the ends of the duvet and blanket, and threatened to set the bed on fire and burn it.
However the daughter of the victim and hers son-in-law, who live in the house next door and who were going to change a light bulb, arrived and confronted the suspect. A neighbour alerted the GNR, whose barracks are 400 meters away, and military officers from the Valado dos Frades and São Martinho do Porto posts responded to the incident.
While the assailant was detained the elderly woman was taken with slight injuries to the hospital in Alcobaça and then to the University Hospitals of Coimbra for examination. She returned home, but was traumatized by the incident, said the officials who provide home support.
The 48-year-old assailant, who lives in the same locality, has criminal records for petty theft and robbery, and was sentenced to four years suspended for pimping. He is now in custody, after having been present the first judicial interrogation on the 27th November, in Leiria. He is accused of committing a crime of aggravated robbery, in the manner attempted, and of four crimes of aggravated threats.