LEBANON, Ore. (CBS Seattle) – A Lebanon woman’s life may have been saved after a Las Vegas company made sales call to her residence, the Democrat-Herald reports.
Walter Warren Ruck, 33, assaulted his ex-girlfriend by hitting her, attempting to suffocate her with pillows and pointing a rifle at her, according to police logs.
While being assaulted the victim’s cell phone rang and was unwittingly answered in her pocket.
The person on the other end was a worker at Americare Health, calling as a follow-up to an initial call. That worker went above and beyond her duties, looking up the victim’s address from a previous call and alerting the proper authorities in Linn County.
“She said she heard the lady being beaten,” Mario Gonzalez, president and CEO of Americare Health said. “I jumped on the phone. I could hear the lady screaming and getting hit over and over again, her screaming and begging for her life.”
Gonzalez continued to listen to the call for another 20 minutes before the police arrived.
Once authorities arrived they found the front door unlocked and heard the victim’s voice being muffled while being told to stay quiet.
When inside the residence, Ruck restrained the victim before letting her go.
“At the very least it was lucky. At the most it might have been providence,” Linn County Sherriff Bruce Riley added.
Ruck was charged with fourth-degree assault and strangulation. He was given a conditional release based on his lack of criminal history.
Ruck’s next court hearing is Feb. 17.
