Metro Police led a relentless investigation on June 21 following an attempted stranger rape of a 72-year-old woman who lives in the Cumberland Gardens neighborhood in the area of 28th Avenue North and Ed Temple Boulevard. The investigation has led to the arrest of the suspected attacker.
Jimmy F. Avery, 61, is being charged with two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of attempted rape. Avery was apprehended at 4:50 p.m. after North Precinct Officers Rachel Susee and Dawn Thornsberry spotted him in an apartment complex parking lot not far from the victim’s home attempting to burglarize a vehicle.
The officers noted that Avery very closely matched the description given by the attempted rape victim. He was turned over to detectives from the Special Victims Division.
The victim in this case told detectives that she was lying in bed watching television at 4 a.m. this morning when she suddenly saw a strange man standing in her room. She said she fought him off as he attempted to sexually assault her. He left the home. She said the man returned two hours later while she was still in bed. He again tried to repeatedly rape her as she continued to fight.
At one point the victim attempted to stab her assailant with a pair of household scissors with orange handles. Scissors matching that description were found on Avery’s person when he was arrested. The suspect ultimately left the victim’s home, but said he would be back. She notified her medical alert company that she needed help. The company called police at 7:08 a.m.
The woman’s attacker gained entry to her home by pulling an air conditioning unit out of a window. Detectives secured the victim’s home as they were conducting the investigation by cutting a piece of wood to size and nailing it into the window frame.
Detective Nick Carter is leading this investigation.
