HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston mom-to-be is recovering this weekend after a frightening home invasion Thursday afternoon. Most of that harrowing crime was captured on her home video.
Lily Garza, who is eight months pregnant, was home taking a nap when the robbery happened. Her husband Cesar, was still at work.
From their home security video, you can see a lanky, middle-aged man with a baseball cap trying to find a way inside their southeast Houston home. He eventually got in through an open window.
The intruder is then seen on video with a knife going upstairs.
“He just tried to go through all the drawers,” Cesar Garza said, who spoke to ABC13 Friday afternoon from outside Hermann Hospital, where his wife was being monitored.
He says when his wife awoke, she found the man in her bedroom, pushing her back on the bed as he tried to find valuables to steal.
“When she found an opportunity, she ran downstairs. That’s when he started chasing her downstairs. You can see on the video that’s when he grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her on the floor,” Cesar Garza said.
On video, you can hear Lily Garza screaming, “I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant.”
The man is heard asking where the money is, and she is heard saying, “I don’t have money. I don’t have money.”
She then gives him her iPhone, Apple Watch, and jewelry, including her wedding ring.
“He took it off her finger,” Cesar Garza said.
The robber then demanded that she go upstairs, but in a split-second decision, she ran outside and screamed for help. That’s when the robber ran as well.
Cesar Garza says neighbors and family soon arrived to help. On Friday, Lily was being monitored in the hospital, but Cesar says much to his relief, both his wife and the baby are fine.
“It was very terrifying, especially for my life. She’s already very emotional, and she’s already dealing with a lot,” Cesar Garza said.
The Garzas want the suspect caught, but they are also hoping that their wedding ring will turn up at a nearby pawn shop.
If you have any information on who the robber may be, please call Houston police.
Baby Garza is due in late September.
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