Man assaults woman after offering $850 to paint her, Florida cops say. Then she escaped
.jpg "A man offered to pay a woman $850 to paint her for an hour before he took her into the woods and violently assaulted and attacked her, a Florida sheriff’s office said.")
A man offered a woman money to paint her for an hour before he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and mutilated her with a knife, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.
Bruce Whitehead picked up the woman on a street in Orlando in the early morning of Dec. 10, told her he was an artist and offered to pay her $850 to paint her for an hour, according to an arrest warrant from the Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orange County.
He then threatened the woman with a knife and told her to lie down in the backseat while he drove to a parking lot near a wood line, the warrant says. He took the woman into the woods, where he started to cut her with a spring-loaded pocket knife, the warrant says.
He sexually assaulted the woman, bit her and burned her with a lit cigarette, the warrant says. When Whitehead started to stab the woman in the chest, she managed to grab his hand, kick him in the chest and face and escape.
Just before 4 a.m. Dec. 10, deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a woman running naked through the street screaming, the warrant says. She was covered in blood and lacerations, according to the document.
Investigators were able to identify the car Whitehead was driving at the time he picked up the woman, the warrant says. It was registered to another person, but the owner told deputies he only lends the vehicle to Whitehead. He later identified Whitehead in a photographic lineup, according to the warrant.
Deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference Dec. 14 asking for the public to help them capture Whitehead.
He was arrested Dec. 15 after authorities received a tip from a resident at about 7 a.m. that morning, according to post on the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Whitehead, 54, faces multiple counts, including sexual battery with a deadly weapon, attempted felony murder, armed kidnapping and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to Orange County Court records.
He is being held without bond. The public defender’s office, which is listed as representing Whitehead, could not be reached for comment.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Man assaults woman after offering $850 to paint her, Florida cops say. Then she escaped."