GRESHAM - A day after police identified the man suspected of attacking a mother and her daughter at a Gresham apartment complex, the victim talked exclusively with KGW.
“The hardest thing for me is the fact that my daughter was attacked in the one place that’s supposed to be safe, and that’s her home,” said Tonja Valderas.
According to Gresham Police 36-year-old Jason Joyner showed up at Tonja’s apartment on Saturday afternoon.
The mother said she and her 12-year-old daughter were leaving when they were met by Joyner at their front door.
“He just pushed through. (He) said ‘I know what you did and I’m going to kill you,’” Valderas said.
Valderas said the suspect started ransacking her apartment before attacking her and her daughter.
“I tried to fight him off, grabbed him by the hair,” She said. “I grabbed him by the genitals and the more I squeezed the more he hurt Meredith, my daughter.”
Police said two neighbors heard Tonja’s calls for help and came to her aide.
“I was like, I have to do something,” Said Mike Lieberman. “I can’t stand here and listen to this.”
Police said Mike and another man named Chauncey Brown were able to subdue the attacker and held him down until officers arrived.
Police said they found Joyner unconscious and took him to Mt. Hood Medical Center, where at last check he remained in critical condition.
The suspect passed out due to a large amount of Hydromorphone, a narcotic painkiller, in his body, according to police.
Tonja says she’s never met Joyner and has no idea why he targeted her.
She’s just glad her neighbors jumped in when they did.
“Who knows how much more injury would have been inflicted on my daughter had they not come up,” She said.
