'It was horrific': Mother and daughter left fighting for their lives after suspect smashes them with hammer in vicious unprovoked attack
A mother-daughter duo have been left battling for their lives in the hospital after a man "smashed them in the head" and even left one of their "face hanging off" in what has been reported as a brutal unprovoked attack on them using a hammer.
Twenty seven-year-old Jow Xuereb has been arrested by the authorities on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder after the women, who he did not know personally, but became targets at Adderly Gardens in Greenwich, south-east London on August 19.
Scotland Yard had confirmed that they took Xuereb into custody at 7.35 pm at a place that is approximately two hours away from where he attacked the women. The attacker had been spotted by a woman who followed him in her vehicle till the authorities were able to detain him on Old Farm Avenue, Sidcup, south-east London.
Xuereb, who is from Greenwich, is believed to have mental health problems and a taser had been "deployed but not used" before he was arrested. The victims are reportedly in critical conditions at a hospital in south London. The authorities had been called to the scene at 12.10 pm where they found the victims, a 64-year-old mother and her 30-year-old daughter, suffering from injuries that are "consistent with a violent assault", reported the Daily Mail.
The authorities are reported to have recovered a hammer from the scene that "may have been used" by Xuereb to carry out the "horrific attack". The blue front door of the two-story home also looks like it had been hit multiple times with a blunt object. The investigators were spotted looking through Xuereb's home on August 19, which is on the same street where the attack on the women took place.
One woman, who lives close to where the attack happened, spoke of how she went to help the two women while Xuereb was still seen swinging around with the weapon on the same street. the neighbors present at the time said that he then left the scene "calmly on a push bike" after he inflicted the horrific injuries on the women. They also described how the victims had been "covered in blood" while Xuereb just "calmly" swinging his hammer around the street.
A neighbor, who helped the women after the attack, told the publication, "It was horrific. Her face was hanging off, I was trying to put her face back together. They were definitely life-changing injuries. She was hit in the face and the head, and the other woman was hit in the head. I'm worried they won't survive."
The forensic investigators were spotted examining a pair of pink slippers that were covered in blood and a blue blanket was seen covering a pavement that had blood. The investigator said that the suspect had still been on the road while she was bandaging up one of the victims before saying, "When you have two women laid out on the pavement, what do you do? Anyone would do it. One of the women was choking on her own blood so we sat her up. She was in an out of consciousness. I feel sick, if you saw it on telly you'd turn it off."
Another neighbor recounted how Xuereb had been "calmly" swinging his hammer around in the street while the women lay bleeding on the pavement. She said, "I heard screams, it sounded like kids. Then I looked out the window and saw them covered in blood. A lot of people were helping them. Blood was pouring out of their heads, and he was there swinging his hammer. He was so calm." The neighbor said that he started smashing away at a brick wall before he "got on his pushbike and calmly cycled away from the scene". She said that the woman never lived in that area and were just visiting friends there.
Sixty nine-year-old Bob Gover was the one who called the paramedics after he saw the attack. He said he heard a scream outside his window as one passer-by saw the mother and daughter with horrific injuries. Gover, who is a retired TV engineer, said, "I heard a bit of a commotion, I looked outside and there were about half a dozen people out there. I went out there and I saw blood on the face of one of them and I knew something had happened so I ran inside and phoned for an ambulance. One of them was moving at the time and sitting in an upright position with somebody holding her up, while the other one was laying down. They were both covered in blood." He also said that the daughter's partner had been there comforting her till the ambulance arrived.
Detective Superintendent Corrigan had said in a statement earlier, "The Police were called at around 12.10 pm to reports of a serious assault at Adderley Gardens, Eltham. Officers attended along with paramedics. Two women, believed to be aged 64 and 30, were found with injuries consistent with a violent assault. They have been taken to south London hospitals where they both remain in a critical condition. Their next-of-kin have been informed. No arrests have been made. A crime scene is in place and enquiries continue."