Marjorie Perkins speaks to a reporter Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, at her home in Brunswick, Maine. Perkins, 87, was left bruised after police said a teenager broke into her home and attacked her. She fought off the intruder and gave him food before he fled. (News Center Maine via AP)
By David Sharp
An 87-year-old Maine woman ably fought off a teenage attacker, then fed him because he said he was “awfully hungry.”
Marjorie Perkins said she awoke at 2 a.m. on July 26 and saw the young man standing over her bed. He had shed his shirt and pants and told her he was going to cut her.
“I thought to myself, if’s he's going to cut, then I’m going to kick,” she said.
She put on her shoes and fought back, putting a chair between them as the two jostled in her Brunswick home. The intruder struck her on the cheek and forehead before switching tactics and heading for the kitchen. He told Perkins that he was “awfully hungry," she said.
So, she gave him a box of peanut butter and honey crackers, two protein drinks and two tangerines.
Perkins dialed 911 on her rotary phone and was talking to a dispatcher while the intruder collected his pants and left. He left behind a knife, shirt, shoes and a water bottle containing alcohol, she said.
Perkins, who has become a bit of an international celebrity since the attack, said she still feels safe in the home where she's resided for 42 years, but worries about rampant crime. She said it seems to have gotten worse over the past few years and that criminals don't fear going to jail.
“I think our law has just folded up," she said. “People aren’t afraid of anything anymore. They feel they can do as they please.”
Police said in a news release that they quickly tracked down the teenager and charged him with burglary, criminal threatening, assault and consuming liquor as a minor. Authorities did not release his identity because of his age. They said the teen was staying a few blocks away from the victim.
Two Democratic senators are pushing for legislation to change the Federal Aviation Administration's standards around seat sizing and spacing on aircrafts. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin have introduced a new bill, which would also require the FAA to set new standards for aircraft evacuations that are more realistic in case of emergencies.
Jury selection in the groundbreaking trial of a former sheriff's deputy charged with failing to confront the killer of 14 students and three staff members at a Florida high school five years ago got off to a speedy start Wednesday, with the preliminary round concluding in just one day.
Centrist Democrats and Republicans pushed it to approval over blowback from conservatives and some progressives. The Senate is expected to act quickly by the end of the week.
We know life can be tough sometimes, so we'd like to take a moment to share One Good Thing happening in the world today. A Wisconsin woman has gone viral after taking in a stray cat that had been coming to her door every single day for a few weeks.
Families of passengers who died in the crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia can seek damages for the pain and terror suffered by victims in the minutes before the plane flew nose-down into the ground, a federal judge has ruled.
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia, and the Carter Center said her family wanted to share her health news to increase important conversations around the country. According to the CDC, there are about 5.8 million people in the United states living with dementia. Here to help us understand this complex disease is Dr. Jen Caudle, family physician and associate professor at Rowan University.
