Grandmother, 80, Is Stabbed to Death in a Texas Parking Lot by a Career Criminal Who Was Out on Bond
Milly Vincent, Daily Mail, May 19, 2020
An 80-year-old widow has been stabbed to death in a Texas parking lot by a career criminal who was out on bond.
Rosalie Cook, who lived alone in Houston, Texas, was fatally stabbed in the chest on Saturday after picking up a prescription from her neighbourhood Walgreens near Braeswood Boulevard.
Rosalie Cook
Attacker Randy Lewis, 38, approached the grandmother as she reached her car, stabbing her in the chest before rifling through her possessions and attempting to take the vehicle.
Randy Lewis
A police officer quickly responded to the scene, firing two fatal shots at Lewis when he emerged from Ms Cook’s car and attempted to stab him with a knife.
Houston police chief Art Acevedo told KBTX-TV: ‘What makes me angry is this suspect stabbed an 80-year-old woman then goes down, rifles through her stuff and tries to steal her car.
‘This is tragic, but the most tragedy here is that a woman has died from a guy who attacked her for no other reason other than to steal from her and carjack her.’
Ms Cook was taken to hospital where she died from her injuries, Lewis died on the scene.
The career criminal, who had been arrested 67 times previously, had reportedly been ‘menacing’ people at a nearby grocery store before the crime.
Lewis’ had been committed to a mental facility after a mental exam found him incompetent in August 2019 – prior to this he was in jail charged with assaulting a public servant who had been transferring him between jails two years ago, reported Abc’s KTRK.
He stayed at the facility until May 1 when he was released to the Royal Personal Care Home, carrying out the attack on Ms Cook two weeks later on May 16.
Acevedo later tweeted: ‘Our hearts go out to the Cook family and to all am who knew and loved this sweet woman. May she Rest In Peace and may we all work to address the broken criminal justice system in Harris County is bent on coddling violent criminals. We deserve better.’
The investigation continues as Ms Cook’s family pay tribute to their ‘perfect grandma’.
