MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening head injuries.
She did not know her attacker who reportedly kicked in her door Monday.
The suspect has a history of mental health issues. He told police he doesn’t know why he broke into the home. Nor could he explain why he slammed the woman’s head onto the hardwood floor, threw a beer bottle at her unconscious body and beat her with a metal cooking pot until it broke.
The woman, 32, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where on Tuesday she was in a medically induced coma and needing a breathing tube. Her 3-year-old daughter, who was home at the time, is being cared for by her grandmother, police said.
Friends of the victim’s family have set up a gofundme.com page for the victim’s family to help with expenses.
Police were dispatched to a disturbance around 2:15 p.m. Monday in the 24200 block of 59th Place W. When they arrived, they learned about the assault.
Christopher D. Yacono 29, allegedly confessed, according to court papers filed Tuesday. A judge Tuesday set bail at $150,000.
He told police that he first knocked on the door before kicking it in.
The woman screamed when she saw an intruder enter her living room.
That is when Yacono allegedly slammed her head into the floor, which he said stopped the screaming, according to statements included court papers.
He then took a beer from the refrigerator and threw it at the woman before beating her with a pot, according to the allegations.
After that, he reportedly grabbed another beer and went outside.
“The victim did not know the suspect,” Mountlake Terrace police operations Cmdr. Mike Haynes said. “She heard a commotion coming from her neighbor’s residence and responded to investigate.”
Yacono had been picking up a cellphone at his girlfriend’s house before the attack, court papers said.
The suspect told police he had not been taking his medication for his mental health issues. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree burglary and first-degree assault.
Court records show Yacono was convicted in 2017 after setting fire in a Lynnwood apartment where a former roommate lived and threatening the man’s life in a text message.
The court in May found that he has mental health issues that played a role in his committing the crimes. He was on community supervision at the time of Monday’s attack.
Yacono had a previous conviction for felony assault and nearly a dozen misdemeanor convictions.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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