By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Members of the African American and local church community are outraged and looking for answers, after an assault on an 88-year-old woman in South Seattle.
Emma Cotton, president of Mount Zion’s Senior Ministry and a prominent member of the local African American church community, was cleaning some household items on her back porch when she was brutally robbed and attacked at her home last week.
According to police reports, the alleged assailant “approached and demanded she turn over her belongings. When the woman refused, the man assaulted her repeatedly, then yanked her into her garage where the assault continued. Inside the garage, the man stole her personal property.”
When police arrived on the scene, Cotton was screaming for help and told officers, “She thought he [the suspect] was going to try to kill her.” She was later taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she was in serious but stable condition.
Those close to Cotton provide a more detailed and horrific account of the assault. They claim that the suspect came up behind her, turned her around and punched her in the face and proceeded to demand her jewelry. Cotton responded by saying, “I’ll give you anything you want.” The man then proceeded to bite off the tip of her finger in order to remove a diamond ring that she was wearing.
Longtime community activist Eddie Rye and close friend Cotton says that Cotton is still in the hospital recovering from the attack and asking the community to continue to pray for her.
“A part of her finger was bitten off so the lowlife mugger could remove her ring. Please pray for her,” said Rye. “She was doing work at her house and when she was done with the work on her deck, walking into the house, she gets spun around and gets punched in the face.”
“It was quite a beating,” added Rye.
The news about the assault has left many in the community in a state of shock and disbelief. An active member of the community for many years, Cotton has continued to volunteer and give back to the community in so many ways and has impacted the lives of others with smiles and grace.
“For this lady, 88 years old, she’s done so much in the community for so many years, it’s not funny,” says Rye. “It’s really, really tragic because she really is a person who is well loved, highly respected, and highly regarded by a lot of people in the city.”
According to SPD, the suspect, described as a man in his 30s, has not yet been arrested.
The Crime Scene Investigation Unit responded to process the scene. Robbery detectives also responded to the scene and to the hospital for interviews. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.
