SCOTT MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER

NORTH COUNTY TIMES – May 15, 1999
 

VISTA – A 30 year-old Oregon man accused of attacking a Vista women he ment on the Internet pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon to premeditated attempted murder, robbery and auto theft charges.

If convicted, Thomas William Abney of Portland, Ore., faces life in prison, Deputy District Attorney Christine Trevino said. Abney remains jailed without bail.

Trevino said the 43-year-old victim met Abney in an Internet chat room in early April.

They agreed that he would visit her at her Vista home, and he arrived a week ago, Trevino said.

The woman remembers telling Abney, who was scheduled to return to Oregon, good-bye on Wednesday, but then the alleged attack ensued, Trevino said.

"According to the victim, there was no provocation, no reason to believe there was any problem at all," Trevino told reporters.

The woman told authorities that Abney threw her on her bed, choked her until she was unconciouos, and after she regained consciousness, choked her again until she lost consciousness a second time, Trevino said.

The woman woke again but pretended not to be awake to avoid further attack. Abney then came at her with a claw hammer, hitting her in the head and causing a concussion, Trevino said.

Trevino said the woman also received a broken finger, puncture wounds to the chest and wounds on her neck indicating she had been cut, but the victim did not recall those injuries being inflicted.

The women called sheriff’s deputie about 5:30 a.m. and reported she had been attacked by a man named Tom and was bleeding a sheriff’s sergeant said.

Deputies alerted San Diego Harbor Police, who arrested Abney a short time later on a commercial airplane at Lindbergh Field in San Diego.

The women is no longer in the hospital. Authorites know little about Abney, except that he has been discharged from the Navy, allegedly because of a federal forgry conviction, Trevino said.

Judge Michael B. Orfield scheduled a bail review hearing Wednesday and a preliminary hearing May 28.

Vista lawyer Linda Alexander, who attended Friday’s arraignment, runs a Web site providing background checks for customers who want to learn more about Internet acquaintances before meeting them in person.

"I get horror stories every day from people who use my background checks," Alexander said. "Mostly, I’m getting Thank you, I didn’t make the trip."

Alexander provided a list of safety tips Friday, including: watching out for someone who seems too good to be true, find out as much information as you can, and do not rush into anything.

Alexander’s Web site can be found at http://WhoisHe.Com.