Columbus Dispatch: 2 women injured in home invasion

September 17, 2003

When frantic screams rippled through her quiet Pataskala home, Sharon Gibson feared her mother had fallen and hurt herself.

Her concern quickly turned to horror when she found her 81-year-old mother lying on the floor, struggling with an intruder.

"I went out my bedroom door and saw him dragging her by the hair," Gibson said. "When he saw me come out, he grabbed me and threw me across the room."

After battering both women, the intruder fled, leaving Gibson and her mother, Lillian Riley, with bruises, sprains and a lingering sense of uneasiness.

"I really don’t know what’s behind this, but we are very worried," Gibson said.

Pataskala police are searching for the man, who reportedly parked his car in Gibson’s driveway around 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

He entered through an open garage door before knocking on a locked door leading to the house that 51-year-old Gibson and her husband share with her mother, said Pataskala Police Chief Chris Forshey.

Riley answered the knock and opened the door, Forshey said. Then the intruder pushed her down and dragged her into a bedroom.

He hit her on the head and asked if there was anyone else home.

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At that point, Gibson came downstairs and the man attacked her, Forshey said. Meanwhile, her mother ran to a neighbor’s home in search of help. The neighbor was gone, so Riley waited in the nearby yard.

Moments later, the man fled in his car, hitting Gibson’s mailbox as he backed out of the driveway. He was gone by the time police arrived.

Gibson said medics later treated her two sprained ankles, hurt shoulder and bruises. Her mother suffered a sprained neck, facial swelling and other injuries.

As she and her family begin to recover, Gibson hopes their story will serve as a warning to others: "We don’t have any enemies. This could happen any time to anyone."

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