By: Louise Pimm
A GERMAN WOMAN and her friend were brutally assaulted at her home in Odeceixe, a small town on the west coast of the Alentejo.
Wishing to remain anonymous, the German lady, (Ms X), contacted The Resident to tell of her experience.
After living in Portugal for eight years and owning a restaurant in Odeceixe for four, Ms X enjoyed the Portuguese way of life and, even though she had been living on her own for one-and-a-half years felt at home in the community.
“My friend from Germany had come over for a two week holiday,” Ms X said, “and I was looking after a 13-year-old girl as part of a student exchange programme for three months, so I was very busy with them and the restaurant.
“We had had our first Carnival party on February 18, and my friend was a little tired so she had stayed at home for the day, I had taken the exchange student with me to the restaurant for the day and, at 10pm, we made our way home. The girl was annoyed with me as she had wanted to stay at the restaurant and wait for a boy, but I had insisted she come with me.
“Arriving at my home, which has a field behind it and is quite isolated from any neighbours, I parked my car as normal and walked to the door. It was dark and I have very little light around my house.
“Walking up to the front door, I saw that it was open and that the window had been broken. I yelled to the girl in the car to stay there and, thank God, she did.”
Ms X, stood at the door and screamed the name of her friend:”I heard the voice of my friend from the bedroom saying ‘be careful, he is a murderer.’
“At that moment a man came running towards me from the house, holding a crow bar above his head. I moved backwards, but fell down outside the front door. I then saw him above me, I saw his face, I thought I was going to die.”
Ms X started to kick and scream at the man. “Then a miracle happened, he turned and ran into the forest. I got to my feet and entered my home to look for my friend, there was blood everywhere. I found her lying on the bed and I thought she would die there and then.
“I suddenly remembered the girl in the car and yelled for her to come to me, I was too afraid to go out and get her. She ran from the car, she was hysterical.”
Ms X called the police and ambulance, who arrived at the scene and took all three to Portimão hospital. Her friend’s injuries were so severe that she was then taken to a hospital in Lisbon.
According to her friend, the attacker had been outside the house watching her. Ms X’s dog had been barking at the window and, as the friend let her out, she saw the man. She threw a flowerpot at him, but instead of fleeing, he attacked her.
The friend believes that they fought for around half-an-hour before the man said that he was going to kill her. “It was a brutal attack, he did not steal anything, he just wanted to kill her. He was in no rush, he just took his time.”
The girl has been reunited with her family in Germany and both Ms X and her friend have also now returned to their homeland. “I was a strong person, I took Karate classes and had lived on my own, but now, as soon as it gets dark I am afraid.”
According to Ms X, the attacker has not been caught and, at the time of going to press Lagos GNR, who were called to the scene, were unavailable to comment.
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