LAWRENCE, Mass. – A 64-year-old man was tied to a bed with a telephone cord, beaten and left to die by a couple who then plundered his bank account, authorities said. The man was saved when his landlord found him 36 hours later.
Casey Berube, 23, was arrested in Nashua, N.H., where she lives and was arraigned Wednesday in the attack Friday night on Alfred Decubellis in his home in Lawrence. She faces charges in Massachusetts of kidnapping, attempted murder, robbery and assault.
Police were still looking for Michael Wells, 39, and a third person suspected of driving the pair to the home and helping dispose of the victim's car, authorities said.
Berube and Wells attacked Decubellis after he invited Wells, whom he knew, to his home, police said.
Police Chief John Romero said the pair used a phone cord to tie Decubellis to his bed, and Wells beat him until he gave his bank account identification number. Decubellis was found Sunday morning and was treated and released from a hospital.
In the meantime, several thousand dollars was stolen from his bank account, authorities said. Police believe the thieves used the money to buy drugs and returned to the home at one point to steal Decubellis' car.
"She was part and parcel to the crime," Romero said of Berube. "If she was worried about the guy, she had plenty of time to call police. They left him there to die."
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