The Florida girl who broke free from a would-be kidnapper used what she learned from watching “Law & Order” to help catch the suspect.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 11-year-old Alyssa Bonal was seen on surveillance video fighting off and fleeing from a man who tried to snatch her from her bus stop in Pensacola Tuesday morning. The girl had been playing with blue slime while she was waiting for the bus, and told her mother that she made sure to leave some traces of the slime on the suspect, who police located later that same day.
Alyssa’s mother Amber Bonal told the Pensacola News Journal that she normally waits for the bus with her daughter, but was running behind on Tuesday morning because she needed to change her baby’s diaper. Before she was finished, Alyssa came running back home and told her mom what happened.
“Her first words were, ‘Somebody tried to kidnap me. He grabbed me by my throat and he had a knife.’ She said she was able to kick and she tripped him and freed herself,” Amber Bonal said.
“She said, ‘Mom, I had to leave some sort of evidence behind, like on Law & Order SVU.’ We’ve watched probably every episode on Hulu. She’s a smart cookie, she thinks on her toes. She got that slime everywhere.”
As previously reported, surveillance footage and the child’s description helped lead police to a residence where they found and arrested suspect Jared Stenga. And though Stenga had repainted the vehicle he was driving during the attack, detectives noted blue slime on his arm.
In an interview with WKRG, Alyssa Bonal described the terrifying moments of fighting off her attacker.
“He had a knife in his hand,” Alyssa said. “I tried running off but he grabbed me. He took me with his arm and I was able to get him down to the ground and I was able to get away.”
As the Pensacola News Journal reports, Stenga, 30, is being held on over $1.5 million bond on charges of attempted kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery.
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