Police are attempting to locate a pair of suspects who severely beat and bound an elderly couple in their El Cerrito home on Saturday, a day after stealing valuables from the house, police said Monday.
Police said officers responded around 5:20 p.m. Saturday to a 911 call from a home on Richmond Street where they found a married couple in their 90s suffering from multiple injuries.
The couple's ordeal began on Friday when a man and woman drove up to their home and started a conversation about their flowers, police said.
The suspects asked for clippings of the flowers and eventually talked their way inside, police said.
After the suspects left, the elderly couple saw that their wallet, jewelry and cash were missing from a bedroom, police said. The victims called their son and had their credit cards canceled but didn't contact police.
The next day, the suspects returned to the house carrying a dolly that they offered to the couple and once again gained entry after engaging the victims in conversation.
When the elderly husband and wife were in different rooms, the female suspect yelled something out and the two suspects began beating the victims.
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Police said the elderly woman was stabbed in the arm with a sharp object before being tied up with rope while her husband was beaten and bound with duct tape in a bedroom.
The suspects used the dolly they had brought to wheel out a safe, police said.
The female suspect noticed the elderly woman calling 911 and beat her again.
As the suspects fled the woman exited the house through a side door and sought help with neighbors. The husband freed himself and called 911.
Both suspects were taken to a hospital with injuries that police said were "very serious but not life-threatening."
Police said the male suspect was described as a man of unknown race in his 40s with short black hair and brown eyes who is about 6 feet tall, weighs about 175 pounds and walks with a very noticeable limp.
The female suspect was described as a woman of unknown race in her late 40s with short hair who is about 5 feet 4 inches tall and around 150 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white striped dress, according to police.
The suspects' vehicle was described as a dark blue two-door vehicle.
Detectives are actively investigating the incident and are asking anyone with information about the suspects to call El Cerrito police at (510) 237-3233. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call (510) 215-4414, ext. 40.
