A man was robbed and savagely beaten allegedly by a girlfriend he’d met online and her son, a Florida sheriff announced.
Pasco County deputies say the 44-year-old man was tied to a chair in his Moon Lake Estates home on Friday and attacked with a hammer and baseball bat by Bobbie Jo Curtis, 40, her son Bryan Curtis, 16, and another woman who hasn’t been caught, the Tampa Bay Times said.
Bobbie Jo Curtis
A neighbor was also attacked by the suspects and alerted police to the violent robbery, according to the Pasco Tribune.
The trio forced the boyfriend — whose name hasn’t been released — to reveal the combination to his safe and the PIN to his bank account. The thieves stole several items from his home, including an assortment of guns.
Deputies found the man in his home with severe head injuries. On Saturday, he was in critical condition, the Associated Press reported.
Curtis, who has a long rap sheet, recently met the man on dating website Singlesnet.com. In just one week, the romance quickly blossomed to the point that the boyfriend opened his home north of Tampa to the Curtises.
A 69-year-old neighbor became suspicious when he saw the suspects loading up the boyfriend’s van on Friday. The neighbor asked about the man and was also hit in the head with the bat when he tried to enter the boyfriend’s house to check on him.
Some reports said the neighbor called 911 when he regained consciousness, another account said police were called by a second neighbor saw the suspects whack the 69-year-old man.
By the time deputies arrived, the assailants were gone. A tipster on Saturday told deputies that the stolen van was at a hotel in New Port Richey. The vehicle was gone when police showed up, but Curtis and her son were still there.
The Curtises were charged with attempted murder, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated battery and grand theft auto, according to the Pasco County sheriff’s office. The 16 year old is being tried as an adult. Bobbie Jo Curtis has been arrested 14 times in the last 11 years for alleged crimes including robbery, battery, and dealing prescription drugs, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Their accomplice is Vanessa (Venessa) Musson, blonde, in her 20s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and covered with multiple tattoos, ABC Action News said. She was arrested in June for battery, according to sheriff’s documents online.
The stolen van is a white Ford Econoline with license plate 366TQH.
Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at (727) 844-7711.
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