CRIME BLOTTER

Seattle woman, 80, carjacked at gunpoint and beaten

Jan 12, 2024, 9:00 AM | Updated: 11:21 am

Image: Seattle's Delia Matabilas, 80, was approached by three young men, threatened with a gun and ...

Seattle's Delia Matabilas, 80, was approached by three young men, threatened with a gun and then assaulted on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. The men then stole her car. (Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

(Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

Delia Matabilas has done everything she possibly could to protect herself.

She chose her senior living apartment building in Seattle’s Central District based on safety. She’s also taken a self-defense class.

None of that helped her Monday night after she was approached by three young men, threatened with a gun and then assaulted. The men then stole her car.

“Two men came near me and the one on this side (pointing to her left) was pointing the gun in my belly. I was so shocked looking at the gun, I did not say a word,” Matabilas said. “And the guy with him, he punched my face.”

That punch left her with a black-and-blue eye and some lightheadedness. Otherwise, she will be OK.

She was unloading her car in the 200 block of 18th Avenue South when the men approached her. She said they were likely Asian or possibly Hispanic.

More from James Lynch: Edmonds Police arrest suspect in the murder of a rideshare driver

A confused victim with a message

Still, she is confused about how someone could be so brutal toward another person.

“We find happiness if we have God in our heart. We don’t feel happy about mistreating people,” Matabilas said.

The Seattle Police Department is looking for her stolen Toyota RAV4 and the men who took it.

They hope can call and give them information that might lead to an arrest.

Matabilas doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to anyone else. And she has this message for those who attacked her.

“I would like to tell them to be kind, loving, and caring. Treat people with respect,” she said.

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Matanilas’ son, Melvin, has moved in with his mother and he said he will live with her for the next month.

Anyone with information about this crime should call 911 or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 800-222-TIPS.

You can read more of James Lynch’s stories here. Follow James on X, formerly known as Twitter, or email him here.

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Seattle woman, 80, carjacked at gunpoint and beaten