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63-year-old woman on oxygen uses back scratcher to scare away intruder

Posted at 11:41 AM, Jun 19, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-19 11:41:04-04

MARION, Ind. – A 63-year-old woman on oxygen and her husband were able to scare off an intruder Monday night.

Their weapon? A back scratcher.

According to WXIN, a man broke into their home while Patty and Donald Kearney were watching TV.  Donald went to check on the noise and when his wife went to check on him, she found him facing an intruder with his hands up.

The intruder had a tape and wrench and threatened to tie them up as he asked for money.

Patty is 63 and on oxygen, but she was determined not to become a victim.

“I have COPD, lung cancer,” she said, “Guy had a hockey mask on and I almost started laughing.”

Kearney grabbed a back scratcher and kept hitting the burglar until the man dropped the wrench. She picked it up and forced him out, eventually hitting the man in the head with the wrench multiple times, according to her. She said he left bleeding.

“I said not in my house, not in my house, and I boom, boom, boom,” she said, “I just hit him in the head, hit him in the head, hit him until he got right there, and I hit him once more and he ran out the door.”

The man ran away, lucky for him, because Kearney said she wasn’t going to stop.

“If he hadn’t have got out that back door, I’d have beat him to death. And I know I would’ve because I was that mad at that person in my house for doing this to me,” she said.

With her sense of security gone, Kearney said she’s proud for what she did, defending her home against an unwanted guest.

Police trying to identify a suspect, but the man is still at large.

Patty and her husband had a security system installed since the incident.

Source: WXIN