Distressing doorbell footage shows the moment neighbors rushed to help a Seattle dog walker after she was dragged to her death by a convict during a carjacking.
Ruth Dalton, 80, was viciously attacked by Jahmed Haynes, 48, near Martin Luther King Jr. Way East and Harrison Street in the Madison Valley neighborhood just before 10am on Tuesday.
At the time of the violent attack, Dalton – who started her dog walking business ‘Grandma’s Critter Care’ 35 years ago – had several dogs inside her vehicle that she had just walked at a park.
It was there that Haynes, who has eight prior felonies and a history of mental health issues, pushed the elderly woman into the passenger seat, out of the car, and ran her over before driving away in her vehicle.
On Wednesday, SWAT arrested Haynes at his home and found a bloody knife and keys to Dalton’s car, the police said. Just five miles away, cops found the lifeless body of her dog Prince and her vehicle.
Not content with murdering Dalton, Haynes had then tortured her beloved dog to death, police say.
On Tuesday just before 10am, Ruth Dalton, 80, (pictured) was viciously attacked in a carjacking by Jahmed Haynes, 48, in the Madison Valley neighborhood in Seattle
Haynes (pictured) pushed Dalton into the passenger seat, out of the car, and ran her over before driving away in her vehicle before fleeing the scene
Frightening footage showed a group of courageous neighbors quickly run out to help the grandmother in her final moments.
A woman can be heard yelling ‘Oh my gosh!’ as she charges out of her home with a man right behind her.
A child then steps out on the front porch as the woman yells at him to go back inside, screaming: ‘Close the door! Close the door!’
John Ayala, another nearby neighbor, was also seen running toward Dalton as he attempted to save her life.
‘I heard two very loud screams,’ Ayala told KING 5.
‘When I got to her, she was still breathing. I did what I could to try and help resuscitate her, but things were just too far gone,’ he added.
Another man came running to help the woman and tried to stop Haynes by slamming a bat into the car window.
Dalton – who started her dog walking business ‘Grandma’s Critter Care’ 35 years ago – had several dogs inside her vehicle that she had just walked at a park. (pictured: An undated image of her walking dogs)
SWAT arrested Haynes at his home and found a bloody knife and keys to Dalton’s car. Just five miles away, cops found the lifeless body of her dog Prince and her vehicle
The day after the heinous crime, Melanie Roberts, Dalton’s granddaughter, thanked Ayala for trying to save her loved one.
Her heartbroken granddaughter, Melanie Roberts, said Dalton had such a love for animals, including Prince (pictured)
‘To know that somebody who cared, even a stranger, was with her, it is comforting,’ Roberts said.
Roberts said her grandmother had such a love for animals, including her pup Prince.
‘Her little dog went the same day she did. They’re together, and I am thankful and grateful for that,’ she said.
Her heartbroken granddaughter created a memorial Facebook page in honor of her late grandmother.
She explained that Dalton had started her dog walking business in 1989 to raise money to help Roberts attend a private Christian school.
Roberts explained that Dalton had started her dog walking business in 1989 to raise money to help her attend a private Christian school. (pictured: Dalton and her granddaughter Roberts)
‘She named it Grandma’s Critter Care because she would say “Well I’m Melanie’s Grandma… and I take care of all the critters”,’ she wrote.
‘And she did in the beginning… it wasn’t just dogs and cats! There were birds, reptiles, and even some ferrets!’
Dalton was also a ‘proud’ great- grandmother to Roberts’ daughter Emily.
‘She visited us in the hospital every day for 6 weeks while Emily was in the NICU,’ Roberts said.
A memorial was set up at a tree near the scene and has been wrapped in beautiful messages from mourning friends, family and residents in the community.
Dalton (pictured) was also a ‘proud great grandmother’ to Roberts’ daughter Emily
A memorial was set up at a tree near the scene and has been wrapped in beautiful messages from mourning friends, family and residents in the community
‘In January of 1997, she walked into my floral studio. That unconditional love that dogs give, that’s what Ruth was,’ Nisha Klein told the outlet.
Pam Newcomer didn’t even know Dalton but wanted to pay her respects.
‘I just was moved by it, and I wanted to come and lay flowers for her,’ she said.
Haynes was previously convicted of hit-and-run vehicular homicide in Seattle in 1993, Fox 13 reported.
He remains in jail and is expected to make his first court appearance soon.
Roberts wrote: ‘8 prior Felony convictions….. he never should have been out on the streets.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk