Harrowing details emerge of attack on jogger in Taunton cemetery
TAUNTON — Harrowing details have emerged about the kidnapping and attempted rape of a jogger this past weekend in Mayflower Hill Cemetery in Taunton.
According to Taunton police reports, the victim was running in the cemetery when the suspect, a stranger to her, attacked her, armed with a boxcutter and possibly hedge clippers. He only fled the scene on foot when a car approached, police said. Three people who happened to be visiting the grave of a relative were driving through the cemetery when they saw the victim struggling with the assailant on the ground and waving her arms at them, police said.
The driver told police she sped up to get to where the victim was out of concern for her, the police report said.
One of the passengers said as the assailant was fleeing, he dropped his cell phone in front of the car and she retrieved it — which would turn out to be a key piece of evidence in the investigation, according to the police reports.
What happened in court
William Perez, 21, of Taunton was arrested at his home on Broadway on Sunday, April 30, and arraigned in Taunton District Court on Monday, May 1 in connection with the incident on charges of kidnapping, indecent assault and battery, attempted rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Friday, May 19.
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What happened in Mayflower Hill Cemetery
The victim told police she frequently runs at the cemetery, at different times of day, according to the police reports. When she arrived at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, she noticed a man she didn't know standing at the Thrasher Street entrance, holding a black backpack with what looked like hedge clippers sticking out.
Within minutes, the assailant approached her and said, "You're coming with me," and then grabbed and dragged her towards the side of a shed in the cemetery, holding a boxcutter, she told police, according to the police reports. He then began to sexually assault her and became physically violent as she attempted to fight him off. When he tried to drag her into the woods, she said she felt faint and refused to get up, and he could not lift her because they were about the same size, she told police. That's when the three witnesses were driving through the cemetery and saw the victim struggling on the ground with the assailant and scared him off, according to the police reports.
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Witnesses say suspect dropped cell phone at scene
The assailant left two key things behind, according to the police report: His boxcutter and his cell phone.
One of the passengers told police she saw the cell phone in the pocket of the assailant's gray sweatpants and then saw it fall to the ground when he was in front of their vehicle. She retrieved the iPhone and gave it to police, who were able to trace the phone back to the suspect, according to the police reports.
The victim picked the suspect out of a photographic line up at the police station on Sunday, April 30, police said.
Police arrested the suspect at his home on Broadway, Sunday, April 30, where they seized evidence, including blue hooded sweatshirts, gray sweatpants, a black backpack, empty iPhone boxes and cutting plyers. In the physical description the victim gave, the assailant was reported to be wearing a blue hoodie, gray sweatpants and holding a black backpack with some scissor-like cutting tool sticking out.
Detective Peter MacDougall indicated in his report that a strong odor of cleaning chemicals overtook the basement where the suspect's bedroom was located.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Attempted rape of jogger in Mayflower Hill Cemetery in Taunton
