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Woman allegedly beaten by relative
Ex-husband says she suffered a broken wrist, finger in attempt to fend off blows.
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER [email protected]
WILKES-BARRE – An elderly city woman required several hundred stitches to her head after she was beaten with a baseball bat, allegedly by her son-in-law, at her 469 N. Pennsylvania Ave. home early Thursday morning, police and a family member said.
Carolyn Byrne, 67, survived the attack, but will likely need cosmetic surgery to the bones in her face, which were crushed by the repeated blows, said Chuck Leco, Byrne’s former husband.
Byrne also suffered a broken wrist and broken finger, apparently while trying to fend off the attack, Leco said. Doctors initially thought she might have a fractured skull, but now say there is no fracture.
Police identified the suspect in the beating as Thomas Manuel, 43, of Haggerstown, Md. Manuel fled in Byrne’s 1998 Ford Escort and remained at large as of Thursday evening.
Police provided little information about the attack. Leco said he learned some details from his and Byrne’s daughter, Donna, who has been at her mother’s side since she was transported to Community Medical Center in Scranton. He said he and Donna learned of the attack around 1:30 a.m., when police came to Donna’s Wilkes-Barre home seeking information on Manuel.
“I don’t know how she is alive,†Leco said.
Leco said the attack apparently began inside Byrne’s home. He said Byrne somehow fended off the blows, then bolted outside when her attacker went to the kitchen to make her a cup of tea.
A neighbor of Byrne’s, Stephanie Kelly, said she and her husband were awakened by screams around 1 a.m. and looked out a window to see a man beating Byrne at the base of her front porch steps.
“I heard this woman screaming, ‘Help me, Lord, help me,’†Kelly said. “He was wailing down on her. He was hitting her so hard, you could hear the hits through the window.â€
Kelly said the man’s arms were flying so fast she could not see if he had a weapon. She said she screamed to the man to stop hitting Byrne and he yelled back, “Shut up, she’s fine.†Kelly said she continued to scream at the man, eventually scaring him away by saying police were on their way.
“He stepped over her like it was nothing and went in the house,†she said. “As I was running down the steps, I said, ‘Please, God, be with this lady.’â€
Kelly said Byrne was dressed in a torn nightgown and was covered with blood “from head to toe.†Another neighbor covered her with a blanket until police and medical crews arrived a few minutes later.
Kelly said Byrne has lived alone at the home since her second husband, Frank, died in November 2003. She described Byrne as a “nice, quiet lady†who liked to sit on her porch.
Leco said Manuel has been married to his and Byrne’s daughter, Cherie, for about five years. The couple planned to move to Wilkes-Barre. Manuel, a truck driver, came to town a day or two ago and had borrowed Leco’s car to go on a job interview.
Leco said he has no idea what prompted the attack. As far as he knew, there were no problems in Byrne’s relationship with Manuel.
“I’m waiting to hear more from her from the hospital,†he said. “I feel so bad and helpless that I can’t do anything.â€
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Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7179
Ex-husband says she suffered a broken wrist, finger in attempt to fend off blows.
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER [email protected]
WILKES-BARRE – An elderly city woman required several hundred stitches to her head after she was beaten with a baseball bat, allegedly by her son-in-law, at her 469 N. Pennsylvania Ave. home early Thursday morning, police and a family member said.
Carolyn Byrne, 67, survived the attack, but will likely need cosmetic surgery to the bones in her face, which were crushed by the repeated blows, said Chuck Leco, Byrne’s former husband.
Byrne also suffered a broken wrist and broken finger, apparently while trying to fend off the attack, Leco said. Doctors initially thought she might have a fractured skull, but now say there is no fracture.
Police identified the suspect in the beating as Thomas Manuel, 43, of Haggerstown, Md. Manuel fled in Byrne’s 1998 Ford Escort and remained at large as of Thursday evening.
Police provided little information about the attack. Leco said he learned some details from his and Byrne’s daughter, Donna, who has been at her mother’s side since she was transported to Community Medical Center in Scranton. He said he and Donna learned of the attack around 1:30 a.m., when police came to Donna’s Wilkes-Barre home seeking information on Manuel.
“I don’t know how she is alive,†Leco said.
Leco said the attack apparently began inside Byrne’s home. He said Byrne somehow fended off the blows, then bolted outside when her attacker went to the kitchen to make her a cup of tea.
A neighbor of Byrne’s, Stephanie Kelly, said she and her husband were awakened by screams around 1 a.m. and looked out a window to see a man beating Byrne at the base of her front porch steps.
“I heard this woman screaming, ‘Help me, Lord, help me,’†Kelly said. “He was wailing down on her. He was hitting her so hard, you could hear the hits through the window.â€
Kelly said the man’s arms were flying so fast she could not see if he had a weapon. She said she screamed to the man to stop hitting Byrne and he yelled back, “Shut up, she’s fine.†Kelly said she continued to scream at the man, eventually scaring him away by saying police were on their way.
“He stepped over her like it was nothing and went in the house,†she said. “As I was running down the steps, I said, ‘Please, God, be with this lady.’â€
Kelly said Byrne was dressed in a torn nightgown and was covered with blood “from head to toe.†Another neighbor covered her with a blanket until police and medical crews arrived a few minutes later.
Kelly said Byrne has lived alone at the home since her second husband, Frank, died in November 2003. She described Byrne as a “nice, quiet lady†who liked to sit on her porch.
Leco said Manuel has been married to his and Byrne’s daughter, Cherie, for about five years. The couple planned to move to Wilkes-Barre. Manuel, a truck driver, came to town a day or two ago and had borrowed Leco’s car to go on a job interview.
Leco said he has no idea what prompted the attack. As far as he knew, there were no problems in Byrne’s relationship with Manuel.
“I’m waiting to hear more from her from the hospital,†he said. “I feel so bad and helpless that I can’t do anything.â€
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Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7179
