Friends hail woman, 86, killed trying to stop attack as hero
NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. — A young man was identified Friday as the suspect in the sexual assault and beating death of an 86-year-old California woman remembered as a hero by investigators and neighbours after she used a walking stick to try to stop an attack on her friend.
Neven Glen Butler, 18, was arrested the same day he was detained in an unrelated assault of a 92-year-old woman a few miles (kilometres) away, Sacramento sheriff’s Sgt. Tony Turnbull said. She was treated at a hospital for facial injuries.
Homicide detectives tied Butler to the sexual assaults of Fusako Petrus, 86, and her 61-year-old friend earlier Wednesday while both were out for a walk, Turnbull said. Petrus died after she was badly beaten. Her friend was treated for injuries.
“I think she’s a hero. She gave her life to save her friend,” said Dolores Hines, who lives down the block from Petrus and her walking companion, whom authorities have not identified.