A sexual assault survivor is again seeing movement on her case after reaching out to KPRC 2 Investigates for help. The woman who contacted us was attacked in March 2021 in area off Westheimer Road between Eldridge Parkway and Highway 6.
Since she is a survivor of sexual assault, KPRC 2 is protecting the woman’s identity.
“It impacted my life tremendously. I ended up losing a career over it. I tried seeking therapy, and that was also a challenge,” the woman said. “I have just been struggling.”
The woman said she was at a bar with her husband for St. Patrick’s Day but left by herself to pick up her children. She said a family member who lived close by was babysitting for her, so she was walking to the house when she was attacked from behind.
“I was punched in the back of my head. When I woke up, that’s when I realized I was being assaulted,” she said. “I did put up a fight. I managed to stand up, trying to get away. He did take a big chunk of my hair, pulled my hair from behind, and then slammed me up against a cement wall. I remember swallowing my own blood and I knocked back out.”
The woman said she woke up in a wooded area behind the buildings along Westheimer. She said her front teeth were knocked out, she was naked and in pain. Later she went to the hospital for a sexual assault exam and filed a report with the Pct. 5 Constable’s Office, who then transferred the case to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
“The phone number that I was calling constantly that belonged to the detective, eventually I couldn’t call it anymore. It was just a busy signal, like it was a disconnect,” she said.
HCSO officials told KPRC 2 when the case was initially transferred to their office, there was a question of who had jurisdiction because technically the attack happened in the city but was close to the county line. Plus, officials said the initial investigators had little go on, no suspect description and while foreign DNA was found during her exam it wasn’t enough to identify anyone.
The case stalled, but no one called the woman to share this information.
The woman told KPRC 2 since she was hit from behind, she never got a good look at her attacker but does remember he had a tattoo on his face, neck and the webbing of one hand.
“I did try to move on, but again I went through a lot of trauma and still do, to this day,” she said.
More than three years after the attack, the woman said she received a call from a new sheriff’s investigator in June 2024.
“[He said] he just received my case that day and that he would be looking into it,” she recalled.
“You tried calling him back?” asked KPRC 2 Investigator Robert Arnold.
“Yes, I left a voicemail,” she said. “I called and no return.”
“What prompted you to finally contact us?” asked Arnold.
“Anger, I believe I deserve answers, and the way that I was left in the field and beaten,” she said. “I want him to be caught.”
After the woman contacted KPRC 2 at the beginning of February, we called HCSO, and within days, a new investigator called the woman. A new statement was taken, and a forensic interview was scheduled, along with offering victim services.
HCSO officials said the June phone call came from the department’s on-going review of unsolved sexual assault cases and the plan was to transfer the case to the city, but it’s unclear if that ever happened. A service that helps survivors track their sexual assault exam kits via a secure link shows her kit has remained with the Sheriff’s Office since May 26, 2021.
KPRC 2 also received the following statement from Jason Spencer, Senior Policy and Communications Advisor for HCSO.
“This case remains open, and an investigator is in contact with the victim. The case is challenging because investigators initially had no suspect description, and the physical evidence yielded no actionable leads,” Spencer wrote.
“We regret that in this case we did not meet our standards for effectively communicating with victims of violent crime, and we are committed to improving as we move forward. The Sheriff’s Office is currently providing victim services to the woman, and we are hopeful that additional evidence will come to light that will help solve this case.”
