Police arrested a 21-year-old Provo man after he allegedly broke into an Orem home and beat a woman and her 4-year-old daughter with a plastic pipe.
Orem police Lt. Craig Martinez said the suspect is believed to have broken a basement window to gain entry to the home near 600 North and 400 West on Sunday night.
The noise of the breaking glass awoke the 33-year-old woman, and when she confronted the intruder he struck her until she lost consciousness.
“When she came to, she ran to a neighbor’s house and called us,” Martinez stated. “When we got to the home, we were able to get three children out of the home safely and we found the suspect a few blocks away and took him into custody.”
The 4-year-old girl sustained minor abrasions to her face. Both she and her mother were treated for their injuries at the hospital, where the mother was in fair condition. The other children, a 7-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, were not hurt.
The man — who refused to cooperate with police regarding his identity, making the taking of acceptable fingerprints impossible — was initially booked into the Utah County jail as “unidentified.”
But he was later identified by someone who saw his mug shot on the police department’s Facebook page, Martinez said.
He was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated burglary, child abuse, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and failure to disclose his identity.