79-year-old assaulted and robbed in Farmington Hills home prayed for her life

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - A 79-year-old Farmington Hills woman who now has eight staples in her head feels lucky to be alive.

Last Thursday she says a man came to her home telling her he was looking for his lost dog. This woman recognized him from a month earlier.

"I thought he would kill me," she said. "I really did."

"I looked out and he said do you recognize me? I said yeah! Did you find your dog? He said yeah, but it's run away again," she said. "And then I did what I shouldn't have done, but I recognized him.

"I said just come in a minute and I'll get a pencil and paper and write down your phone number."

Barely able to grab a pencil, she says that man grabbed a heavy vase from the kitchen table and violently hit her in the back of the head twice.

"When I felt that bang on the head I thought what is happening?"

Bleeding profusely she says the man told her to lie down on her living room floor, tying her hands.

"He said 'If you do what I say, I won't kill you,'" she said.

The crook began removing her ring, watch and bracelets her husband gave her before heading upstairs for more jewelry.

"I was praying," she said. "I was praying out loud: God you've got to help me. You've really got to get me through this. I trust in you. Don't let him take my life. Not yet."

Emptying her purse this woman says she thought for sure he'd kill her before leaving.

"As he was leaving, he said I'll call an ambulance for you," she recalled. "But I don't think he ever did."

Farmington Hills police say that man is now in custody, with a warrant expected Tuesday.

Police also say that man is believed to be involved in burglaries in Livonia, Plymouth, Canton, and Bloomfield Township and even more in Farmington Hills.

This woman feels incredibly grateful to police and is thankful to all of those concerned FOX 2 viewers who were kind enough to reach out.

"It rebuilds my faith in humanity," she said. "To know so many people are concerned about someone they don't even know."