Southern California Man Survives Attempted Murder by Neighbor
A man from Southern California is still in the hospital following his neighbor’s vicious beating and head stabbing.
On July 22, at about 8:30 a.m., the victim, 35-year-old Michael Roque, left his residence in Loma Linda and walked to his car.
At that point, Mark Eldridge, Roque’s 37-year-old neighbor, is said to have come up behind him and whacked him in the head with a rock. Before slashing Roque in the side of his face and head with a knife, he tried to sever his throat and kept pounding him with the rock.
Upon arrival at the site, San Bernardino County deputies discovered Roque heavily bleeding on the ground.
The father of Roque, Raul Gomez, described it as “a nightmare.” At that point, it was the only way I could phrase it. It’s unbelievable that something like this could occur.
Roque’s family claims that the suspect and Roque had no acquaintanceship.
He was taken to the Loma Linda Medical Center and kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) in an induced coma. According to Gomez, the suspect had been waiting for the ideal opportunity to strike Roque.
Roque called the authorities to report the assault at first. Eldridge called them at about the same time to report that his flat had been broken into.
Eldridge’s home “lacked forced entry or any evidence to suggest a break-in,” deputies subsequently concluded.
Nevertheless, there was proof of the attack, and Eldridge was taken into custody for assault with a deadly weapon. Later, he was charged with attempted murder in the West Valley Detention Center, where he is currently being held without bond of $500,000.
Family members reported on Saturday that Roque had emerged from his coma and was speaking somewhat, but he still looked lost and confused. A 3–4 inch section of the knife that was used to attack him, according to the doctors, was still embedded in his skull.
According to Jaime Roque, the victim’s cousin, on a GoFundMe page, “Doctors told Michael if they remove it, he will bleed out and if they leave it there, it can cause infection and possibly kill him.” “Michael made the decision to keep it in, and the doctors let him.”
According to close family members, Roque most recently started a new career at UC Riverside after working at Loma Linda Medical Center. They’re optimistic that he’ll recover fully quickly.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the reason for the vicious attack as reported by KTLA.
