cincinnati.com
OVER-THE-RHINE – A Cincinnati police sergeant said the department has “got to find” the man who stabbed, raped and held a 62-year-old woman against her will for almost five hours Wednesday morning.
OVER-THE-RHINE – A Cincinnati police sergeant said the department has “got to find” the man who stabbed, raped and held a 62-year-old woman against her will for almost five hours Wednesday morning.
Before the woman was taken into surgery Wednesday afternoon she was able to tell police that Jarvis Harris, 35, attacked her as she getting ready for work at about 8:30 a.m. in her apartment in the 200 block of East Clifton Avenue, Sgt. Gary Conner said.
The woman said that Harris – who lives in the building and is also the building maintenance man with keys to every apartment – broke into her unit. He tortured her and raped her in her own apartment and also in his, Conner said.
Police scoured Over-the-Rhine on Wednesday afternoon after a call came into 911 just before 1 p.m., calling police to the scene.
They were not able to locate Harris and continued looking for him into Thursday morning.
“I hope this lady makes it,” Conner said. “I can’t imagine the trauma and torture this woman went through.”
Conner said the woman lost so much blood that it seeped through the floor of a third-floor apartment into a second-floor apartment.
Crime-scene workers and homicide detectives combed through the crime scene, waiting to see if the woman would survive the attack. As of 10 p.m., she held onto life at University Hospital.
“Apparently, there was bad blood between them,” Conner said. “As to the nature of what caused that, we don’t know. That’s something we hope to learn.”
Harris is charged with rape, felonious assault, kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Conner said Harris’ niece, Rasheeda A. Joe, 18, was arrested in connection with the crimes. It appears she knew what Harris was doing to the woman, but did not try to help her, Conner said.
Joe was booked into the Hamilton County jail just after 9 p.m. Wednesday on charges of tampering with evidence, obstructing official business and complicity. She altered and destroyed evidence by cleaning up blood and throwing away the items she used to clean it up, court records show. She also tried to mislead investigators by lying to them.
Her 3-month-old child was taken from her by authorities, Conner said.
Anyone with information that might help police locate Harris should call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
