Fayetteville couple attacked during home invasion
FAYETTEVILLE, NC (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville couple, awaiting a ride to dialysis treatment, was severely beaten during a home invasion early Monday morning.
Joyce McNeill, 54, and her husband John McNeill, 70, were scheduled to ride a FAST van to John's dialysis appointment. Around 5:30 a.m., a man burst through the front door of their Slater Avenue home, demanding money. When the couple didn't have anything to give him, the man beat them with a weapon, police said.
"It's just, just unbelievable," said Eleanor Raines, a neighbor. "I can't believe somebody would do something like that to them."
Raines said Joyce McNeill managed to run over to her home and ask her to call 911.
"They were in really, really bad shape," said Raines.
"My granddaddy's a diabetic, and they don't do [expletive] to nobody," said the couple's grandson, Malcolm Underwood. "[They] mind their [expletive] business."
The couple was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, but John McNeill was later flown to UNC. They both had head trauma injuries.
"He does come to treatment on time," said McNeill's nurse, Beverly Bowden.
So when the couple didn't show up Monday morning, the nursing staff knew something was wrong. She said they were devastated to learn of the attack, and the condition of their patient, whom they consider family.
"Awesome man. Very quiet man, didn't bother anybody," said Bowden. "He looked forward to coming to his treatments."
"It's heartbreaking to see something like this happen to someone," she continued. "But as you know, we never know from day to day what lies before us, so all we can do is just stay prayed up."
"My prayers are with them, with the family, and hoping that no retaliation or nothing is done," said Raines. "Let the law handle the situation, and get it resolved from that angle."
Anyone with information that can help police find the robber is asked to contact Detective J. Nevitt with the Fayetteville Police Department at (910) 433-1856 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). You can also submit information to Crimestoppers by visiting http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org and completing the anonymous online tip sheet or by text-a-tip on your mobile device by sending a message to 274637 (in the text box type "4Tip" followed by your message).
