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Lewis // Photo provided (December 20, 2012) |
A 16-year-old boy accused of brutally attacking his neighbor told police he thought he killed her. Investigators say Cameron Lewis confessed to forcing his way into that woman’s home on N. Wilber St. in South Bend because he wanted to rob her.
The prosecutor charged Lewis with attempted murder, robbery and criminal deviate conduct Thursday. Those charges were filed in adult court because Indiana law specifies that certain types of crimes are automatically sent to adult court when they are alleged to be committed by a person who is 16 or older.
According to court documents, Lewis attacked the 56-year-old woman across the street from his own home around 7 a.m. Wednesday. He admitted to investigators he rang the woman’s door bell and forced his way inside when she answered the door, court documents said.
Police said Lewis then demanded money from the woman but she refused and even tried to fight him off. According to investigators he beat her, pulled out a knife and cut her numerous times – slashing her throat and puncturing her lung.
The woman ultimately showed Lewis her wallet, court documents said, before she passed out. The teen told investigators since she was no longer speaking and her eyes were closed, he believed he’d killed her. He then dragged her down to the basement and left the home. He also admitted to stealing money from her wallet, court documents said.
She somehow managed to call 911 at 7:19 a.m. and tell dispatchers she’d been attacked. She also relayed that she thought the suspect was one of the neighbor boys – describing him having dreadlocks and wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt.
She was hurt too badly to answer the door when police arrived and medics rushed her into emergency surgery at a local hospital. Without that surgery, court documents said the woman would have died.
Investigators arrested Lewis at a South Bend high school where he is currently a junior, after finding a bloody yellow hooded sweatshirt and bloody knives inside his bedroom closet. The boy’s parents gave officers permission to search their home.
Lewis was booked into the St. Joseph County jail Thursday night after police say he confessed. He is scheduled to appear in front of a judge Friday.
