Purse Snatcher Robs Woman, Then Runs Her Over Multiple Times — Caught On Camera
Horrific surveillance footage shows a purse snatcher mugging an innocent woman, then proceeding to run her over many times with his car before driving away. Police have identified the victim as 65-year-old Marsha Johnson.
According to the Huffington Post, the event took place in the parking lot of a Walmart in Covington, Georgia. Local police released footage of the purse snatcher brutally running Johnson over with his car, but edited out the graphic content. You can see the suspected purse snatcher in the video below.
Marsha Johnson can be seen loading up her groceries into her vehicle when the purse snatcher approaches her. At first, Johnson refuses to let go of the purse, which causes the purse snatcher to wrestle her to the ground in order to get it away from her. Once he had the bag, he returned to his own vehicle and ran her over multiple times. Johnson suffered several traumatic injuries from the attack and later died at the hospital as a result.
Search continues for suspect in deadly Walmart robbery Covington's Marsha Johnson killed @FOX5Atlanta #fox5atl pic.twitter.com/HFLMMVLjD4
— Deidra Dukes (@DeidraDukesFOX5) November 17, 2015
It’s unclear if the purse snatcher intended to kill or harm Marsha Johnson by running her over, but authorities believe that was simply a result of the suspect trying to escape, according to CBS local news.
“She ended up behind the car,” said Captain Craig Treadwell of the Covington Police Department. “He backed out, and when he pulled forward, she ended up back underneath the car. He couldn’t get the car all the way out, so he ended up being on top of the victim with the vehicle three or four times.”
In fact, police think the purse snatcher didn’t even know he was running over the woman he had just robbed.
“There was no way they could not have known that they had run over something, from what we saw on the video,” said Captain Ken Malcolm.
Police have not yet identified the purse snatcher, but they believe he is either a white or Hispanic man. He appears to have a heavy build with a black goatee. In the video footage, the purse snatcher was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, jeans and white tennis shoes. A female passenger was in the car with him at the time. He was driving a silver 1990s Honda Accord that was damaged on the driver-side door.
“We’re just asking people to watch the video, share the video through social media,” said Ken Malcolm. “You never know when someone you know has some important information that we so desperately need.”
Family members of Marsha Johnson have spoken out, begging the purse snatcher to surrender himself, according to WSBTV.
“If you have a heart at all, turn yourself in. Face your consequence,” said her niece, Jamie Johnson.
Marsha was described by her loved ones as a kindhearted woman who was already facing a great deal of hardship in her life, having recently lost her husband and coping with a son who was battling cancer.
“She didn’t deserve to die that way.” Family wants person who ran over and killed Marsha Johnson, caught. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/obdbcPmOMp
— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) November 17, 2015
“This woman right here would give you the shirt off her back,” Jamie said of her aunt.
“She was the kindest person,” said relative Ernest Johnson. “She’d give you anything. I couldn’t believe it.”
“We lost a wonderful lady,” said another relative, Nancy Allen. “How could anyone be so cruel to run over somebody and take their life just for a purse? They didn’t even know what was in the purse. We’re going to really miss her.”
If you have any information about the purse snatcher, contact the Covington Police Department.
[Image via ValeStock / Shutterstock.com]
