Police search for elderly beating suspect

HIALEAH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Hialeah Police need the public's help to find a man believed to have beaten an elderly woman inside her own house.

Investigators held a press conference Thursday afternoon at Hialeah Police Headquarters to find the suspect depicted in a sketch. Detectives on the case believe the man is in his early 20s, stands about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, has a light complexion and is fluent in Spanish with a Cuban accent. He was last seen wearing a brand new Marlins cap and sunglasses, both of which he left at the scene after running away.

The beating happened near West 35th Street and 12th Avenue. Police explained that the man knocked on Alba Rosa Giral door while her husband was home and asked for directions. He left after she told him where to go.

He returned later and asked Giral to write down the directions and entered the home. By this time, the husband had left the house.

The suspect entered Giral's home and asked for a glass of water and turned the gun on her. "I'm going to kill you if you don't give me the money, and I said, 'Well, kill me, because I don't have anything and neither does my husband," she said, speaking through a translator.

The subject then knocked the 77-year-old woman to the ground. Antonio Garcia, the victim's husband, spoke through a translator as he explained what happened next: "He pointed the gun at my wife and threatened to shoot her. She was able to knock the gun right out of his hand. Then, she swung her arm up, hitting him right in between his legs, and he ran off."

Garcia said he appeared to have only recently arrived from Cuba.

Giral never expected a good-looking man would be behind this crime. "He's a very good looking boy, that if someone would see him and doesn't know him, he'd fool them," said Giral.

Garcia said he's not surprised by his wife's moves. "She's not weak. She's in her 70s, but she's not weak," he said.

Police warn people to be on the look out for the man. "He can get into any home of any elderly person here. He looks like a nice man. He has a nice demeanor, and that's what makes him so dangerous. He's a wolf in a sheep's skin outfit," said Hialeah Police Detective Carl Zogby.

None of the victim's property was stolen, but the house was ransacked.

Police ask anyone with information on this suspect call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

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