Anita Sam, a resident of Melancon Trailer Park in Cecilia, Louisiana, shared a traumatic experience that occurred in her own front yard in the wee hours of February 22nd. Recalling the event with KLFY, Sam, who has lived in her home for five to six years, said she was watching TV when the lights turned off unexpectedly. She immediately called SLEMCO to report an outage, but they suggested checking her breakers. She followed their advice and went outside with her phone flashlight without realizing that someone was waiting for her.
Once she restored power on the breaker, the lights in her house turned on for only ten seconds before shutting off again. It was then that she noticed a man standing in front of her. She recounted that the man “had on a gas mask with big, bubbly eyes, a long sleeve shirt that was a different color brown plaid and he hit me.”
Sam cried for help, but no one responded. As the attacker continued to beat her, she begged him to stop. “He called me out my name and asked me where it was,” she said. “I’m asking, ‘what are you talking about?'” In desperation, Sam grabbed a crowbar to defend herself, and the attacker fled. As she headed back into her home, she saw another man running outside. She described him wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, but she only saw his back.
Sam stated that there were three men involved in the attack, but she was uncertain about the whereabouts of the other man or their identities. She suffered a fractured nose and “busted up” eyes during the assault and was treated at the hospital. Sam suspects that the men were searching for drugs in her house, but she has no knowledge of who they were.
Feeling traumatized, Sam expressed her hope that the attackers feel remorseful for their actions. She forgives them, but they must pay for violating her comfort zone. Sam worries that other single women in the trailer park could fall prey to similar attacks, and she seeks answers and closure. “I don’t sleep at night. When I fall asleep, I jump up because I see this guy with these bubbly eyes with the brown plaid shirt and everything,” she said.
As of now, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s office is investigating, but no arrests have been made in connection with the attack.
