60-Year-Old Woman Attacked, Left For Dead Near Riverside Park Walking Trail

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — A loving grandmother of three and caretaker of her elderly father — a veteran battling dementia — was in the hospital Monday night, fighting for her life after being brutally attacked in a Riverside park.

Susan Wagner, 60, stepped outside her home Friday night, possibly to see the moon and the city lights sparkling from the top of the street her family has lived on for decades, when she was attacked by an unknown person and left for dead near a walking trail at Doty Trust Park where a neighbor found her.

According to her family, she went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, but the EMTs on board were able to revive her.

"I didn't see any defensive wounds on her hands," Chase Wagner, the victim's son, said. "So it doesn't even look like she was given a chance to even try and push the person off."

Doctors said they hope Susan will recover enough to move on her own again, but with a fractured skull, neck and ribs as well as bleeding in her brain, the road to recovery will be long and hard.

"This has been traumatic for the whole family," Chase said. "I don't know what makes someone assault someone that bad, what pushes someone to go to that extreme."

Chase said that his mother has no enemies, and Riverside police said there were no witnesses and they have not found any video of the attack.

Without answers, Chase struggled to think of what could have caused the attack.

"My mom does have mental health issues," he said. "So, she could have been yelling at someone or something."

But, Chase said, his mother, who is physically disabled, is harmless and would have been defenseless during the attack.

"It makes me think, 'Is this random? Is there a predator in the neighborhood? Was this provoked,'" he said. "You know, either way, this is far beyond a regular fight. This is attempted murder."

Riverside police detectives said they were investigating the attack as an attempted murder.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Riverside Police Department.