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Man attacks neighbor
A man was charged with attacking his neighbor and a police officer.
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga - A 69-year-old Clayton County senior summoned up the courage to talk about her horrifying encounter with her neighbor, identified by Clayton County police as David Lee Billings of Forest Park.
"I never would have thought that something like this would happen. He said he was going to kill me," said the 69-year-old woman who asked FOX 5 not to reveal her name or show her face.
She said Billings has cut her grass several times in the past and was always kind until Friday when he showed up at her front door and said his wife had something for her.
"When I came to the door, he threw gasoline in my face and grabbed me by my neck, and forced me into the house. He dragged me from one room to the other and we fought and I knew he was going to kill me because he said he wanted to," the woman said.
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The woman said Billings tore away at her clothing as he tried to sexually assault her. Desperate to get her 53-year-old neighbor off of her, she told him there was jewelry in another room.
"That's when he stopped to go to find the jewelry. That took his mind off of trying to rape me and that's when God told me just to run. So I ran with my clothes torn, just screaming and my neighbor helped me. She was my angel at that moment," the woman told FOX 5.
Captain Gazzara Hill applauded the woman's ability to think quickly and escape safely.
"To get him distracted the way she did was just a miracle. I'm just so glad it wasn't any worse," said the Clayton County Precinct Commander who described what happened just a few houses away and four hours after the woman was attacked.
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According to Captain Hill, police were called to Billings' own home on Murray Lake Circle and discovered Billings behaving erratically and demanding to see his wife as he poured gasoline on himself and set a jacket on fire.
"As our officers tried to detain him, he attempted to grab his lighter and set himself and the officers on fire--all of them. I am proud that my officers were able to detain and de-escalate the situation without using force and without anyone getting hurt," said Captain Hill.
Billings is in the Clayton County jail with no bond. He's charged with arson, aggravated assault, aggravated assault on an officer, sexual battery, terroristic threats, kidnapping, and burglary among other charges. His 69-year-old neighbor told FOX 5 she's just grateful to be alive.
"God gave me the strength to fight him off," the woman said as she stood on her front porch days after the attack.
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