THE horrifying moment neighbors realized an elderly dog walker had been murdered by a carjacker has been caught on doorbell footage as cops announce the arrest of a suspect.
Ruth Dalton of Madison Valley in Seattle was killed on Tuesday morning when her car was taken by a carjacker after she had walked several dogs at a local park.
The 80-year-old was allegedly pushed into the passenger seat and out of the car by her attacker before being repeatedly run over.
Investigators said that the dog walker was dragged by the vehicle as the suspect fled the scene, according to ABC News affiliate KOMO-TV.
Her much-loved pooch Prince was later found to have been tortured and killed by the carjacker.
Harrowing footage reveals of the moment neighbors heard the commotion outside and rushed to help the dog walker.
In the clip obtained by NBC affiliate KING-TV, a woman can be seen rushing out of her house screaming ‘Oh my god’ as she ran down the steps of her porch towards the road.
One vehicle can be seen speeding off in the background, but it is not clear if this is Dalton’s car.
The woman is quickly followed out of the house by a man and a child.
As she desperately looks up and down the street, she quickly turns to the child, ordering him to go back inside screaming: “Close the door! Close the door!”
Another member of the household grabbed their pet dog as other neighbors emerged onto the street.
In the meantime, the woman can be seen sprinting down the street out of view.
John Ayala who was one of the neighbors who tried to save Dalton revealed the distressing moment in more detail.
“I heard two very loud screams,” he told the news outlet.
“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.”
Others tried to stop the attacker by hitting the car with a bat before being threatened with a knife, cops revealed.
“I basically got out of my front door before I realized there were dogs running down the street and screaming,” fellow neighbor Laura Dynan told Fox affiliate KCPQ.
Haynes is the suspect in the carjacking and death of Ruth Dalton which took place on Saturday, August 17, around 10 am in Madison Valley, Seattle.
He is facing charges of first-degree murder for Dalton’s death.
He also faces a first-degree animal cruelty charge after Dalton’s dog was found dead with multiple stab wounds.
The 48-year-old was identified by cops after his fingerprint was found on Dalton’s phone in her stolen vehicle.
Seattle Police described Haynes as a “violent person” noting that he has eight prior felonies and a history of mental health issues.
One of these felonies was for vehicular homicide in 1993 in Capitol Hill, according to Fox affiliate KCPQ.
“[A neighbor] with the bat was batting out all the windows. There were dogs leaping out. It was just chaos.”
“All the dogs that were in the car were not hers, they were other people’s in the neighborhood, and she was trying to protect them, I’m sure,” she added.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Seattle Police Department held a press conference after arresting the man suspected in the incident.
Jahmed Haynes was arrested by SWAT officers on Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree animal cruelty.
SPD Deputy Chief Eric Barden told the press that Haynes has eight prior felony convictions “and a history of mental health concerns.”
“One of the citizens came up to the car to engage with the suspect and (Haynes) produced a knife,” he explained.
“At that point, that witness backed away, went and retrieved a large stick or a bat or a similar object, came back to try and save the woman, and at that point the vehicle backed up rapidly and crashed into two parked vehicles.”
This was when Dalton was hit by her vehicle.
Haynes was identified through a fingerprint left on Dalton’s phone which was found inside her abandoned car.
When officers searched the 48-year-old’s home, a bloody knife was located along with the keys to the SUV.
Just 20 minutes from the carjacking scene, the body of her beloved dog Prince was found in a recycle bin in a park with multiple stab wounds.
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.
John Ayala
Dalton’s car was later located nearby.
SPD revealed that the carjacking and the death of the dog were linked when a witness allegedly saw Haynes hurting an animal.
Animal control responded to the report just after 3 pm on Tuesday and found Prince dead with Dalton’s name on his collar which connected the two crimes.
Residents “were very, very helpful, very cooperative,” Barden said.
“We had a number of citizens that as the incident was occurring, stopped and tried to help the woman as she was being victimized.”
At least two dogs were inside the vehicle at the time of the jacking, with one neighbor saying their dog was found a mile away from where the car was taken.
“She is somebody that people really loved, and she’s been a neighborhood fixture in the Madison Park neighborhood for a long time,” Dalton’s friend Susan Lindsay told KOMO-TV.
” She (is) going to be so missed, and people really loved her.”
“I feel like she was taken from us too soon. Eighty is not old in my family,” Dalton’s granddaughter Melanie Roberts wrote on a Facebook page paying tribute to the dog walker.
“Her mom lived to 99, her grandma lived to 94. She still had a lot of years left with us.
“She loved what she did. She loved her customers, she loved the animals.”
Haynes is in custody and is soon expected to appear in court.
