Video shows homeless Seattle man beat woman with bat in random attack
A homeless Seattle man brutally beat a woman with a baseball bat during a random attack as she walked home, harrowing video shows.
Wantez Jamel Tulloss, 31, who lives in transitional housing, was charged Friday in the ferocious attack that was caught on surveillance footage in Seattle’s Belltown section, the Seattle Times reported.
The footage, obtained by KING-TV, showed the alleged assailant drop two bags he was holding so that he could grip a bat with both hands and attack the woman from behind as she walked alone on Jan. 31.
He was seen taking a full-body swing at the woman’s head, police said.
After knocking her to the ground, he picked up his belongings and left, the footage shows.
Cops found the woman, who works at Amazon, on her back with blood flowing from her right ear. She suffered skull fractures, a possible concussion and needed “significant surgery” in the aftermath of the assault, according to charging documents.
She told investigators she was struck from behind and didn’t see her attacker coming, charging documents indicate.
Tulloss kept the bat in hand as he wandered around after the attack and proceeded to get a slice of pizza before returning to his apartment, KING-TV reported.
He lives at a transitional housing facility in Seattle’s Belltown section, just 500 feet from where the woman was attacked, charging documents show.
Investigators were able to track him down due to his distinctive facial tattoos.
An officer found Tulloss in the lobby of the transitional living facility, but he returned to his apartment as the cop called for backup, the Seattle Times reported.
Officers then found the clothes Tullos was wearing in the video clip stashed away in an oven. The baseball bat, however, was not recovered, police said.
Tulloss remained jailed Wednesday at the Kings County Correctional Facility on $150,000 bail, online records show. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Tulloss, who was charged with first-degree assault, faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
He has a long criminal history, including two domestic violence convictions in 2013 and another for first-degree robbery in 2009, KING-TV reported.