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Elderly woman misses husband's funeral after brutal bashing by intruder

An 82-year-old woman was forced to miss her own husband’s funeral after she was brutally bashed during a home invasion.

The Arizona woman, known as Virginia, was forced to “play dead in a pool of her own blood” for three hours after she was allegedly attacked with a glass cup by an unknown man.

Her grandson, Jesse Leetham, detailed the attack in a Facebook post and said the man interrupted her while she was washing the dishes just five minutes after her family left.

“She was innocently washing the dishes and he tapped her on her shoulder, when she turned around she saw a man with a white mask and stocky build,” he wrote.

Jesse Leetham detailed the incident on Facebook and shared a number of photos of Virginia's injuries. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham
Jesse Leetham detailed the incident on Facebook and shared a number of photos of Virginia's injuries. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham

“When he went to hit her, she grabbed his arms (so he may have scratches), when she did this he grabbed a glass off the counter and broke it over the back of her head and he proceeded to keep bashing her with it and his fists.”

She had been preparing for her husband's funeral the next day.

Leetham said Virginia was forced to lie in a pool of her own blood for three hours out of fear that the man would come back.

He claims emergency services didn’t answer her calls.

Virginia was forced to miss her husband's funeral due to her injuries. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham
Virginia was forced to miss her husband's funeral due to her injuries. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham

“This amazing strong woman laid on that floor ... while she lay there he trashed her house and stole a few of her belongings,” he said.

“The house that my papa built with his own two hands for her and her kids. After she was sure he had gone she used all her strength to run and lock her self in the bathroom.

"With her eyes swollen almost completely shut she tried calling 911 twice with no answer, she then finally got a hold of another family member.”

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on the incident, reiterating Leetham’s story.

Virginia was transported to a local hospital and missed her husband’s funeral the next day due to her injuries.

Virginia laid in a pool of her blood out of fear the man would come back. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham
Virginia laid in a pool of her blood out of fear the man would come back. Photo: Facebook / Jesse Leetham

“Not only did this MONSTER beat her unrecognizably, steal her belongings, took the security her husband built, and left her to die. This sorry excuse for a human being stripped her of being able to say her final goodbyes to the love of her life! Having said that this beautiful woman still forgives the animal that did this to her,” Leetham wrote.

Authorities say Virginia suffered a broken nose and other injuries. She is now recovering with her family.

Leetham said the family are offering a reward for any information that may lead to an arrest.