Roosevelt Attempted Murder Suspects Denied Bail

Lopez (L.) Bass (R.)

A man and a woman were ordered held without bail after the pair was accused of beating, raping and leaving a 46-year-old woman for dead in a wooded area in Roosevelt following a dispute over money earlier this month.

Both 53-year-old Kenneth Bass and Julia Lopez, 37, were arraigned Thursday on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, rape, criminal sexual act, assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Nassau County police are still looking for a third man who was involved in the  incident.

“This beating in particular was exceptionally brutal,” Det. Sgt. Robert Matedero said during a press conference while describing the woman’s harrowing ordeal. “She was dumped in the woods like trash.”

Police said the incident occurred nearly two weeks ago, when a man drove the victim to 475 Brookside Drive in Roosevelt on May 5. The man is not considered a suspect, but he was arrested at the house just hours before the incident when police were alerted by OnStar that the vehicle he was driving was stolen, police said.

While “socializing” with the people inside the house around 3 p.m., an argument ensued over money, police said. That’s when Bass, Lopez and the third suspect who has yet to be apprehended attacked the woman, police said.

Her arms and legs were tied up, a rag coated with a noxious substance was shoved into her mouth and a plastic bag was tied around her head, causing her to lose consciousness, Matedero said.

Before passing out, she remembered one of the suspects saying: “We’re going to kill her,” officials said.

Bass, Lopez, and the third suspect then dumped her body in a wooded area behind the house.

After waking up, the woman removed the bag from her head and untied her arms and dragged herself 150 yards to a streetlight, where she was later discovered by a passing motorist who called police. She was taken to Nassau University Medical Center.

She was treated for multiple broken bones and a busted lip that required 17 stitches. Police said she couldn’t see for seven days because of extensive swelling around her eyes.

Matedero commended police department for tracking down the suspects who took all their belongs and left the house where the beating occurred. Matedero noted that they may have been living their illegally.

The woman never met Lopez or Bass prior to this incident, he said.

“She believed, I guess, that these people were trustworthy,” Matedero said. “It had unfortunately very tragic results for her.”