A California man who apparently cross-dresses on social media and was out on bond for an attempted murder, kidnapped and assaulted an elderly woman in South Carolina who stopped providing him with financial assistance, police said Thursday.
Enver Marius Zueros, 34, was arrested Monday and is charged with first-degree burglary, kidnapping and attempted murder in the attempted extortion of an 89-year-old woman.
"This man will not see the light of day. He will spend the rest of his natural life in prison," Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright said during a news conference.
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Authorities said the woman was left for dead and found Sunday with her wrists bound with duct tape, a dog leash over her ankles and a bag over her head.
Police suspect Zueros had a distant online connection with the victim's brother, WCIV-TV reported. The woman kept a relationship with him via text and email while offering financial assistance.
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Police said Zueros, a resident of Mission Viejo, California, was upset that she began donating money to charities instead of giving it to him. In an effort to target her, he allegedly rented an Airbnb in the area.
"This wasn't random," Wright said. "He knew exactly who he was targeting and had a plan in place. It's a terrifying example of how dangerous some of these situations can become."
Zueros was inside the woman's home when a retired law enforcement neighbor became suspicious and rang the doorbell. Zueros gave a fake name and said the victim was hospitalized after falling in the shower.
The neighbor, still suspicious, went to his home to grab a gun, police said. Zueros fled the woman's home in her vehicle.
Authorities later found the vehicle with the woman restrained underneath the rear folding seats in her car floorboard, police said. Zueros was later arrested. The victim sustained minor injuries but was doing well, Wright said.
Zueros is being held in a local jail after being denied bond.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., scolded California Gov. Gavin Newsom on social media over the incident.
"@GavinNewsom, keep your criminal scum out of South Carolina," she wrote on X. "This traveling tr*nny and attempted murderer from your state brutalized a constituent of mine. Come get it."
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In a subsequent post, Mace said California's lenient criminal justice policies were hurting South Carolina.
"California policies affecting our state. This guy was out on bond for attempted murder…!" she wrote.
