Woman Is Found Beaten, With Stake Through Mouth

An unconscious woman was found with a wood stake protruding from her mouth Saturday morning on a 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.

“It’s a bizarre, savage attack,” Anderson said.

The nude woman was found about 9:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Poinsettia Place by a Ventura resident who was about to comb through a dumpster looking for cans to recycle.

“I was coming around the corner looking for aluminum cans when I saw her,” said Arles Allen, 55. “She was all beat up and naked. I could see her rib cage moving. It looked like she was having trouble breathing.

“She had a stick coming out of her mouth,” he added. “It looked like part of a picket fence. I didn’t want to go any nearer, it was kind of gruesome.”

Police said that they had not determined how long the woman had been lying near the dumpster.