‘God heard me:’ 88-year-old recounts surviving brutal home attack where her finger was bitten off
Dec 3, 2025, 6:53 AM | Updated: 6:53 am
88-year-old Emma Cotton speaks out for the first time after a brutal attack outside her Rainier Beach home. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
An 88-year-old Seattle woman is speaking out for the first time after a brutal attack outside her Rainier Beach home left her with broken bones and her finger bitten off.
Emma Cotton said she’s leaning on her faith and family two months after the Oct. 13 assault that left her fighting for her life on her own porch.
“Nobody heard me screaming and hollering or anything. But I’m here today. So God heard me,” Cotton told KIRO 7.
Cotton said the attack happened suddenly as she stepped onto her porch.
“I turned around, there was this guy. And he started punching me in the face,” she recalled.
Cotton says the suspect, who was caught on surveillance video in her Rainier Beach neighborhood, wanted her rings — including her wedding ring.
“He could have ‘em. My life was more important than rings,” Cotton said. “I can always get my wedding ring back. But I couldn’t get my life back.”
But when the attacker went for one more ring, the Cotton continued to fight back.
“He took my hand and had it in his mouth. And that’s when I started scratching his face with this hand,” she said. “And he just kept biting it until he got the ring off.”
Even with the little voice Cotton has left after screaming for help that day, her message is clear.
“I wasn’t just gonna let him stand there and just beat on me,” she said.
With her finger bitten off, bones broken in her face, ribs and feet, and her face bleeding, Cotton still found the strength to call 911 herself.
When asked what continues to give her strength now, Cotton’s answer was immediate.
“It’s the love of people. It’s the love of my family. It’s the love of the community. I’m not going to let one person turn my faith around,” she said.
Remarkably, Cotton said that the same faith has led her to forgiveness.
“I forgave him. I just want him to clean his life up and do some community work and stop trying to take people’s lives for what they’ve earned,” Cotton said.
She said she’s already back working at her church, determined not to let the attack stop her from helping others.
Police are still searching for the suspect seen in surveillance video from the October attack. Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS or submit tips online.
You can also call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.
