Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Knocking on the wrong door was just the right thing to do

By Michelle Alaimo

A maintenance worker at an apartment building on University Avenue learned that sometimes going to the wrong apartment can be a blessing.

In this case, it was a lifesaving mistake.

On Aug. 3 at 9:52 a.m., a maintenance worker went into what he thought was the right apartment to perform some requested work, said Sgt. Mike Barbieri of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. After knocking on the door and getting no response, the worker stepped over four days of newspapers piled on the doorstep and let himself in, Barbieri said.

Inside, the maintenance worker, who works for Lake Vasona Manor, found a woman about 40, unconscious and covered from head to toe with bruises. When police responded, they found the residence in complete disarray and immediately began investigating the incident as a criminal act.

"We didn't know if it was an assault or domestic violence case," Barbieri said.

After interviewing neighbors and friends, police learned that the woman, whose name is being withheld by police, was last seen the night of July 30. Barbieri said that police later learned that the bruising could have been the result of a medical condition--a condition that could cause the woman to go into a state of rage, thus offering an explanation for both the bruising and the state of the apartment.

Police, however, are still pursing the investigation as a criminal case until doctors can confirm that the woman had the medical condition, Barbieri said.

Since the incident, the victim has been transferred from Valley Medical Center to Stanford University Medical Center and is in serious condition, Barbieri said.

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