Severely Beaten Woman Found Near Dumpster

An unconscious woman was found with a wood stake protruding from her mouth Saturday morning on a side street near downtown Ventura, authorities said.

The unidentified woman, whose face and upper body were severely beaten, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she underwent surgery to remove the stake, said Sgt. Bob Anderson of the Ventura Police Department. The woman, who police said was in her early 30s, was in critical condition late Saturday afternoon, Anderson said.

“It’s a bizarre, savage attack,” Anderson said. But he dismissed suggestions that the assault was part of a satanic ritual.

The nude woman was found about 9:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Poinsettia Place by Arles Allen, 55, a Ventura resident who was about to comb through an orange dumpster looking for aluminum cans to recycle. Poinsettia Place is a narrow street with small businesses near downtown Ventura.

“I was coming around the corner looking for aluminum cans when I saw her. She was all beat up and naked. . . . I could see her rib cage moving, it looked like she was having trouble breathing,” Allen said. “She had a stick coming out of her mouth . . . it looked like part of a picket fence. I didn’t want to go any nearer, it was kind of gruesome.”

“Somebody would have to be pretty nuts to do that,” Allen said.

Police said they had not determined how long the woman had been lying near the dumpster. Officers interviewed nearby residents but had no leads or suspects Saturday, Anderson said.

Tim Atherholt, 33, of Ventura, who lives in a van parked about 15 feet from where the body was found, said he did not hear or see anything suspicious Friday night in the area after he went to sleep about 10 p.m.