Police: Shoreline woman raped as her kids slept next to her
»Play Video
SHORELINE, Wash. -- Detectives are asking for help to track down a rapist who attacked a woman inside her Shoreline home early Sunday morning.
Police say it was just after 4 a.m. when the man entered a home in the 100 block of NE 17th St. through an unlocked door and raped the 45-year-old victim. The woman's two young children were sleeping on her bed at the time of the attack, according to police.
The rapist, who is described as being olive-skinned and possibly Hispanic, ran away when one of the kids woke up and turned on the lights.
The attack has left neighbors in the area shaken.
"Do I gotta watch my back more?" said neighbor Jose Solis. "Do I gotta watch everybody now that I see? Do I gotta watch my own people or my neighbors? I don't know."
Police say the rapist stands roughly 5'6" tall and weighs about 160 pounds. The victim said he had a shaved head and smelled strongly of cigarettes. He spoke with an accent, which the victim said could have been Hispanic.
The victim primarily speaks Vietnamese and said the attacker was able to speak to her in broken Vietnamese.
At the time of the attack, he was wearing light washed blue jeans and a dark t-shirt.
Detectives do have some clues to work with, according to King County sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West.
"The suspect did leave some blood evidence behind. I don't know what part of his body was injured, but he did leave some evidence behind. So if you know somebody who fits that description and has a fresh wound on their body, maybe somewhere on their hands or arms, please give us a call," West said.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-3311 and mention case # 12-218037.
Police say it was just after 4 a.m. when the man entered a home in the 100 block of NE 17th St. through an unlocked door and raped the 45-year-old victim. The woman's two young children were sleeping on her bed at the time of the attack, according to police.
The rapist, who is described as being olive-skinned and possibly Hispanic, ran away when one of the kids woke up and turned on the lights.
The attack has left neighbors in the area shaken.
"Do I gotta watch my back more?" said neighbor Jose Solis. "Do I gotta watch everybody now that I see? Do I gotta watch my own people or my neighbors? I don't know."
Police say the rapist stands roughly 5'6" tall and weighs about 160 pounds. The victim said he had a shaved head and smelled strongly of cigarettes. He spoke with an accent, which the victim said could have been Hispanic.
The victim primarily speaks Vietnamese and said the attacker was able to speak to her in broken Vietnamese.
At the time of the attack, he was wearing light washed blue jeans and a dark t-shirt.
Detectives do have some clues to work with, according to King County sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West.
"The suspect did leave some blood evidence behind. I don't know what part of his body was injured, but he did leave some evidence behind. So if you know somebody who fits that description and has a fresh wound on their body, maybe somewhere on their hands or arms, please give us a call," West said.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-3311 and mention case # 12-218037.
He could have been a drunk vietnamese maybe that is why his vietnamese was broken... I am sorry this happened to the victim. Do hope they can catch the person who did this from the evidence he left behind. Â
I want the scumb** to realize he will be facing more than just unlawful entry and rape charges. Â Turning yourself in would be a good idea. Â And people, always do your part. Â Lock your doors and windows to protect yourself and your family. Â I'M THE LAW!
Sheesh! LOCK YOUR DOORS, PEOPLE! Get sticks to put in your windows and sliding doors. So they are looking for a possible Hispanic man that speaks broken Vietnamese... maybe the suspect knew the victim or lived in the area? Hopefully he left fingerprints too and between that and the blood, they can identify the attacker.
Here's the story, copied over from KING5.com, with correct address and more details:
Â
The King County Sheriff's Office is looking for man who raped Shoreline woman in her home while her children slept next to her. The family just moved into the home in the 1000 block of NE 175th St. and the windows are taped up because most of the house was undergoing renovations.
Just after 4 a.m. Sunday, the 45-year-old woman was in her bedroom, sleeping with her two children, ages 7 and 3, when a man broke into the house through an unsecured door. The suspect fled when one of the children woke up and turned a light on. The suspect is described as an olive-skinned male, possibly Hispanic. He is approximately 5'6", 160 lbs, and had a shaved head with dark "stubble" hair growing. He is said to have an accent, possibly Hispanic, and smelled strongly of cigarettes.  The suspect was last seen wearing light-washed blue jeans and a dark t-shirt. The victim, whose primary language is Vietnamese, said the suspect spoke to her in broken Vietnamese. Detectives said the suspect may have a fresh wound somewhere on his body because blood was left on a door at the scene and did not belong to the victim or her family.
The family was so traumatized they packed up and moved out of state. If you have information you are asked to contact the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-3311 and mention case # 12-218037.
This isn just horrible but really, leaving your door unlocked? Not a good idea.
This story has a lot of holes in it. I hope they catch this creep soon.
My thoughts and prayers go out to this family. May the mother heal fast and well. If not fast than at least with the tools and help she will need. Her children will need help too. I hope her community surrounds her and protects her as well as themselves.
Someone will know who this is. Do the right thing and turn him in.
catch the rapist and cut his manhood off.Â
You have a blood sample at least. Now DNA testing will help solve the case, right?
 @FreedomLover They can only use DNA to find him if he or a close family member already has a DNA sample in the system, or if they have a suspect to test. It's not like having a phone number that can be traced.
@Lady J @FreedomLover Well hopefully he left fingerprints or is in the system. The blood he left behind is just the nail in the coffin to prove he was there.
There is no 100 block of NE 17th in Shoreline. This happened in the 1000 block of NE 175th. Why is the info in your story completely wrong about the location? Please fix. Thank you.
 @GoDAWGS Look who wrote it.
Really need more details to sort out this story. There is no question that rape is a terrible act, and true offenders should be punished. A Hispanic offender communicating with a Vietnamese victim speaking âbrokenâ Vietnamese raises more questions for me.
I thought that was odd too. I think that it is probably a pretty good bet that the attacker was Vietamese. I wonder if the victim knew her attacker but is afraid to say his name.Â
Holy $%^&!!! Â That is terrifying!
Locked doors do not stop perps, they just slow them down long enough for you to get your shotgun and get 9-1-1 punched into your phone. Â Â Not locking the door leaves you unarmed and you remain a victim. Â Locked doors, but no shotgun, you remain a victim.Â
Â
Don't ever be a victim.
 @Vertically Inclined Just so you know, those who know will tell you that a simple locked door will deter most criminals looking for easy access. Not every bad guy is either strong enough to break down a door or clever enough to pick a lock. Real life former thieves who now work for insurance companies had a show a while back and talked about those things. So unless this person was being specifically targeted, locking her door might have protected her.
Â
Both your paranoia and lack of cogent and grammatically correct writing trouble me.
@Vertically Wanna try that again, in one sentence? Cause you pretty much said the same thing twice.
And my husband wonders why I get mad at him when leaves for work in the morning and leaves the front door unlocked!Â
Your husband is a moron.
 @PrairieDawn Your husband should be at least a bit more considerate than that.  I would never do such a thing to my wife.
Once in college I forgot to lock my dorm room door and thankfully the only harm that came to me was someone opened the door and threw in a couple of water balloons. Â To this day, almost 30 years later, I will get up as many times as it takes to be 110% sure that all the doors are locked.
Â
My heart goes out to this woman, her children, family and friends.  May she be able to heal from the horrible experience.  And may the perpetrator be caught and thrown in jail for many, many years. Â
"Do I gotta watch my own people..." said Jose Solis.Â
Apparently you do, so you can catch them before they rape your Vietnamese neighbors. Seriously, I thought that 'my people' crap was shunned to death by 1999?Â
Â
 @windtreeman sometimes people say "my people" when referring to their family, friends, and neighbors. It could be more about this gentleman's age than about the racial thing you two guys are thinking.
 @two loons  @windtreeman Like in Detroit, where I was born, "my people" were our neighbors..and we were mostly eastern European.
 @windtreeman It's only politically forbidden for certain "peoples" to say that. For other demographics it's encouraged.
She must not have even tried to fight him off or the kids would have woken up well before the alleged rape took place? This story doesn't add up.
 @dorimonsonfan Fighting doesn't always save your life. I fought 1 out of 2 times. The one time I didn't is what got me through that one. There was no way I was going to win. So I shut up, I'm alive. He was taken care of later, or so I'm told, either way I like the thought of it and I trust who told me I would always be safe, at least from him.
@dorimonsonfan Don't worry. If it was a legitimate rape, she'll be able to avoid pregnancy.
She may have tried to keep the kids from waking up so they wouldn't be put at risk and/or witness the attack.
@dorimonsonfan
Â
 When she realized what was happening, she tried to fight off the attacker and started speaking Vietnamese.
At some point, the man fled when the womanâs  7-year-old woke up.
Police said the attacker left some blood behind and may have been injured when the woman fought back.
 @dorimonsonfan I think the story is missing details. There have been rapes that were similar to this one in that children were in the room or bed when it took place. I'll reserve judgment and offer the possibility that he threatened to harm her or her kids, and she determined it was best to not fight. I can only imagine what she was thinking. I know I would be very scared and very concerned for my kids.
You gotta remember to lock those doors. I know we shouldn't have to worry about it, I wish we didn't have to, but that is the best line of defense.
Alright. Let's emphasize, "4am through an unlocked door". I can't believe this. People please, ALWAYSÂ lock your doors and windows. This is not 1962 in Mayberry! She is very lucky to be able to report the crime. Happy the kids are safe as well.
@DTMD Â Someone knew she didn't lock her doors...look to near by neighbors or workers in the area...it's apparent someone was watching her to know this...
 @takncarabizniz  @DTMD The family had only lived in Shoreline for two weeks having just moved from CA. The home was under renovation and not "ready" for move-in. Plastic tarps in the windows is how he gained entry. KOMO left that out I guess.
 @GoDAWGS  @takncarabizniz  @DTMD Thank you for providing more detail.
This is the second time this scenario has been in the news over the past year in Shoreline. Stay safe up there.Â
Horrible. Absolutley horrible. I hope that they find him and throw away the key, and I hope this woman heals...
I can't imagine the fear and courage that woman must of had to try to protect her kids through that ordeal. I hope they catch this bastard fast!
One of those headlines that dang near made me drop my fork. Find this animal and put him down.