Attacked woman: 'I was not a victim'

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) - Betty Oosterhouse survived a brutal attack in her own home. The 80-year-old woman was beaten, tied up and left for dead.

But on Tuesday, one day after testifying against her accused attacker, Oosterhouse spoke with 24 Hour News 8 about how she won't let the attack dominate her life.

"I have chosen not to give him space ... in my mind or in my personality," she said. "Meaning what exactly? Meaning I was victimized. (But) I was not a victim."

It was around 10 a.m. Labor Day when she answered a knock at her door. It was Randall Lachniet, a man who had recently worked on the roof of her Kentwood home. He was having car troubles, he said, and asked to use her phone.

Once he got inside, he grabbed her, put a paring knife to her neck and demanded Oosterhouse's ATM number.

"He just punched me, and then when his fingernails came down, it tore my lip open," she said. "After I got the blow that gave me the concussion, I wasn't totally out. It was very hazy, groggy."

On Tuesday, the swelling on her face had gone down. Lachniet smashed out several teeth, broke her jaw and gave her a concussion, she said. She also lost some hearing. But almost the whole time, Oosterhouse fought back.

"I bit him," Oosterhouse said. "I bit him hard."

The two wrestled on the kitchen floor.

"I was upstairs and he took me downstairs, and I can't remember how I got down there," she said. "He might have half-dragged me."

Lachniet allegedly tied her up in her basement against a pole. Afterward, he left with her purse, ATM card and car. But she managed to escape and get help from a neighbor.

Oosterhouse was out of the hospital in 48 hours. Her relatives say they're not surprised she fought back and survived. They describe her as feisty. She does about 150 to 200 sit-ups four or five times per week.

Since the attack, friends, family and church members have sent her flowers, cards and letters. She also got some from the antique car club to which she belongs. Oosterhouse owns a 1963 Buick two-door hardtop.

"It's been absolutely amazing," she said. "The cards I got, the support -- a lot of people I don't know, even."

One letter she received was a bit surprising.

"This is a letter from (Lachniet's) parents, which is heart-breaking," she showed 24 Hour News 8. "And it's heart-breaking and I feel very sorry for them."

Lachniet, 46, has a long criminal history, involving assault, car thefts and breaking and entering. He was paroled in May after serving more than three years of a 23-month to 10-year sentence.

Now, nearly one month after the attack, Oosterhouse looks back with amazement at the calm she experienced as the attack happened.

"I had no fear, and I experienced no pain," she said. "With all the punches, I did not experience any pain. I experienced no fear. The only thing I wanted was (for someone to) get him off (of) me."

"God's a big God. I don't know. I guess I was determined (Lachniet) wasn't going to best me in every way."