Dep. Thomas Gilliland with the Harris County Sheriff's Office explained, "She's walking along Mills Road, the defendant was walking on the same street, crossed the street, and struck her twice in the face, knocking her down."
Investigators say the man then sexually assaulted the 47-year-old woman in a ditch along Mills Road. She fought back, biting him in the right hand, and when he finally ran off she called 911.
Nearby resident Tiffany Hohlt remembers what happened next.
She said, "I was cooking the kids breakfast, and helicopters just kept going round and round. I went to the store to see what happened."
Hohlt and other neighbors didn't know at the time that sheriff's deputies had set up a perimeter, trying to locate a man described as African-American, around six feet tall with a muscular build. And he has a bite mark on his right hand.
"That is very shocking, very shocking," said neighbor Sandra Murphy. "I can tell you, the neighborhood is growing, is changing a bit, but even that surprises me; it really does."
Murphy has lived along Mills Road for 30 years. She says her home has never even been burglarized, so this crime is especially shocking.
"It makes me a little nervous, because I'm often outside, I'm sitting in the back or I'm working in the front yard," Murphy said. "It really makes me feel very nervous.
Police were hoping to work with the victim to create a composite sketch, but they say the victim is too traumatized to remember enough details.
Authorities are hoping anyone with any information about the crime will call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
