ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man is accused of hiding inside a woman's home before he attacked her when she returned from work early Thursday morning.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said around 3:39 a.m. on January 2, deputies responded to the home in St. Petersburg for a burglary in progress.
When they arrived, they found 20-year-old Sean-Michael Cooper standing outside with blood on him. Deputies then located the victim, a 22-year-old woman, who was significantly injured inside the home. The victim told them that Cooper attacked her.
During an investigation, detectives learned that the victim returned home from work when she found Cooper inside in the dark. She said Cooper attacked her by striking her head with a large glass pipe, spraying her with pepper spray and then hitting her multiple times with a frying pan.
Detectives said Cooper then choked the victim, took her phone, told her he would "stage an attack" and to remove her clothes so he could sexually batter her. When she refused, he threatened to kill her, along with her mother and her cats.
Cooper continued to strike the victim until she was unconscious, according to PCSO. Detectives said he made numerous "inconsistent statements" and had injuries to his face and neck that were consistent with the victim attempting to defend herself.
The victim was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Cooper was arrested and charged with one count of attempted murder and one count of burglary with battery before being taken to Pinellas County Jail.
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