Family says shot severed victim’s spinal cord
Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram
The woman who was abducted, shot and terrorized Tuesday may never walk again.Family members told county sheriff’s officials that the 43-year-old woman’s spinal cord was severed when her abductor fired a single bullet into her mid-upper back region.
The woman had been hiking Tuesday in the Carlisle Reservation when 25-year-old Matt-hew Plas allegedly abducted her, shot her and stuffed her in a trunk before attempting to out-drive a pair of witnesses.
The wounded victim later was located behind a defunct carpet business and told the man who found her that she had been raped.
Plas, who was apprehended by Metro Parks’ rangers Tuesday after fleeing into a wooded area, has been charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. He’s being held without bail in the county jail.
Sheriff’s deputies have neither located the gun that was involved in the incident, nor have they learned the caliber of the bullet.
Sheriff’s Capt. Rich Resendez said investigators are still trying to determine the extent of the sexual assault.
Dr. Robert Berkowitz, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal injuries at the Center for Orthopedics in Sheffield, spoke in general terms about spinal injuries while making it clear that he had no specific knowledge of the woman’s case or injuries.
“If the patient has a severed spinal cord, the wires are cut in half and will never heal again,” Berkowitz said.
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that act as communication wires from the brain to the rest of the body.
The woman remained in fair condition Thursday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. She and her family declined a request for an interview.
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram May 9th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 7% |
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Comments
Comment from
mattswabb
May 9, 2008, 1:21 pm
Take the guy out in the woods, shoot him in the back and leave him.
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