California Grandmother Welcomed a Stranger Into Her Home and Cooked for Him Nightly, Then He Allegedly Waited Until She Fell Asleep to Attack Her
"He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead."
Therese Garcia, 71, a grandmother from Crestline, California, was sitting on her porch last month. A stranger approached her, claiming he’d been robbed while camping. According to Daily Mail, Garcia’s daughter Abbie said the man was identified as 26-year-old Erik Eduardo Navarro. He said he had an upcoming job interview at a nearby hardware store.
Garcia took pity on him and welcomed him into her home, cooking for him every night. She believed he was a “sweet kid” who’d fallen on hard times. Her opinion shifted after several days, as Navarro reportedly grew more demanding. “He was there a total of six days and he started kind of making demands,” Abbie said. “He wasn’t really helping with any of the things that he agreed to in the beginning.”
When Garcia asked him to leave, he allegedly waited until she fell asleep on the couch. He then began beating her with a metal baseball bat. He reportedly beat her for hours, pausing only when she lost consciousness. He struck her again each time she woke. “He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,” Abbie said.
The Attack Went on for Hours
Navarro then allegedly fled with Garcia’s phone, credit cards, keys, and e-bike. San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies only learned what happened after neighbors requested a welfare check. Deputies arrived on August 25. They found Garcia with a cut forehead, a cut eyebrow, and swollen hands. Swelling near her eyes was severe enough to affect her vision. Her family believes she would have bled to death without the neighbors’ intervention. She’s remained hospitalized since.
Her injuries include a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed, and multiple broken bones in her arm, hands, and face. She also suffered deep lacerations requiring extensive stitching. Her condition has started to stabilize over the past week. Garcia doesn’t have health insurance. She may need facial surgery once the swelling subsides, according to a GoFundMe her daughter started to help cover medical costs. Authorities are still searching for Navarro.
If caught, Navarro would face significantly more than a standard assault charge. That’s largely because of Garcia’s age and the severity of her injuries. Under California’s elder abuse law, Penal Code 368, any conduct against a person 65 or older that causes great bodily injury carries an additional enhancement on top of the underlying crime. That adds up to five extra years in prison when the victim is over 70, as Garcia is.
The nature of the attack itself points toward California’s most serious charge short of homicide. Under Penal Code 664/187, attempted murder requires prosecutors to prove intent to kill. They must also show a direct step toward carrying it out. If prosecutors can show the attack was willful, deliberate, and premeditated, meaning Navarro planned it in advance rather than acting on impulse, a conviction for first-degree attempted murder carries a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
Courts have found that waiting for a victim to fall asleep before attacking can support an argument of premeditation. Continuing an assault over an extended period can support that same argument. The alleged theft of Garcia’s phone, credit cards, keys, and e-bike would likely add robbery charges. Navarro is currently at large.
Any eventual arrest would also typically come with an active warrant, and prosecutors can pursue all of these charges together rather than choosing just one.
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