Woman, 38, beaten, set on fire

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) - A 38-year-old woman is in serious condition after being beaten and set on fire early Sunday morning.

Lori Lee was found on a porch in the 1500 block of Godfrey Avenue in Wyoming early Sunday.

She was bloody and had been burned.

Lee's injuries are so serious that she is currently unable to communicate with police and identify her attacker, but she is expected to survive.

Maria Centeno said that she heard a knock on her door and opened it to find Lee.

"She couldn't really talk. ... All she said was 'Could you please call 911,'" said Juana Centeno, interpreting for her grandmother Maria.

"When she opened the door, her face was like really dark like charcoal. Black with blood," Juana interpreted for Maria. "It was like burnt, but it looked like they dragged her on the concrete."

Centeno said that Lee never indicated where she had been or who had attacked her.

Before going to Centeno's home, Lee knocked on the door of another area resident.

That resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from Lee's attacker, said that Lee told him she 'could believe they would do this.' This indicated to the resident that there was more than one attacker and that Lee knew them.

Lee wandered away from the first resident's home while he was calling 911. She ended up at Centeno's front door.

Investigators have identified the location of the crime, which is outside of Wyoming jurisdiction in the city of Grand Rapids.

24 Hour News 8 has confirmed that the crime happened at Roosevelt Park just off of Grandville Avenue. Police processed the scene and cleared it just before 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

They knocked what appeared to be a shoe out of a tree near the lodge at the park.

GRPD Capt. Jeffrey Hertel said that police did recover physical evidence from the park, but details of what that evidence is have not been released.

Wyoming Police discovered evidence of the attack at Roosevelt Park during a search of the area following the incident.

The case was originally being handled by the Wyoming Police Department. Since the identification of the location of the crime, the case has been taken over by the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Detectives from the Wyoming Police Department and Grand Rapids Police Department will conduct a joint investigation, according to a release by the Wyoming Police Department.

Police said is unlikely that Lee was attacked by strangers.

"Is Is this a random act of violence? I would say probably not -- that she more than likely knew her assailant," said Wyoming Police Chief James Carmody.

Wyoming police want to talk with anyone who may have seen or had contact with Lee on Saturday night and early Sunday. They also want people in the general area to look around, especially for any clothing.

Some of Lee's clothes were burned off.

Detectives are working with Lee's family and friends to attempt to trace her steps on Saturday. They have talked to some people who had contact with Lee on Saturday, but do not consider any of these people suspects.

In a news briefing, the Wyoming police chief had a message for whoever did this.

"We'll find you, we're going to come and get you," Carmody said. "It's as simple as that. It's a whole different type of criminal element that would do something to a human being."

Lee was a bit of a transient. She lived with different friends at different times around the area. Coupled with the fact she can't talk because of her injuries, it's been difficult for police to establish the patterns they would follow in a case such as this.

If you have information, you're asked to contact the Wyoming Police Department at 616.530.7300 or Silent Observer. There is a $1,000 reward now offered through Silent Observer.