Man held in attack, robbery of elderly Kensington woman

Elizabeth Morini, 81, took care of herself, went to church on her own, and kept a tidy rowhouse in Kensington, her son, Tom Morini, testified yesterday.

All that changed April 2 when an intruder snuck into her house on Boudinot Street near Somerset - allegedly by pushing through a window air conditioner in her kitchen - hit her twice on the head, and stole about $80 before fleeing, authorities said.

Yesterday, Municipal Judge Marsha Neifield held Victor Vargas, 25, for trial on aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and related offenses in connection with the attack on Morini and in connection with other area break-ins.

Vargas, a thin man with teardrop tattoos under his left eye, was arrested April 7, the day after he allegedly brandished a knife at another victim.

Morini, who was hospitalized and released, later suffered a stroke and was hospitalized again April 9. After being released again from a hospital, she recovered for several weeks at her son's home. But after a fall, she was again hospitalized, then died at Northeastern Hospital May 21.

Authorities say there is not enough evidence to link her death directly to the attack. An attempted-murder charge against Vargas was withdrawn yesterday by the prosecution.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Erdely told reporters after the preliminary hearing that based on the evidence, "it did not appear to us that we could prove down the line a first-degree murder . . . there was not sufficient evidence to prove that that kind of premeditation was present."

Tom Morini's wife, Bernadette Gredyk, testified that her mother-in-law called them at 6:11 a.m. April 2 and said "in a very unsettling," yet "calm" voice: "I've been beaten, robbed. I'm on the floor . . . "

Gredyk and her husband rushed to Morini's house, less than a five-minute drive away.

"My mother[-in-law] was on the floor, laying, with blood all over her face," Gredyk testified.

Tom Morini testified that his mother's bedroom "was utter disaster," with drawers ransacked.

Under cross-examination by public defender Chris Angelo, Morini said his mother described the attacker as of "Hispanic origin, thin build, slight mustache, slight beard." He was "very abusive verbally," he said.

Morini told reporters afterward that his mother woke up around 4:20 a.m. when the assailant pulled a drawer from her bedroom night table, and it fell.

His mother put up a fight, he said. "Once, she tried to push him off the chair when he tried to get in the top closet," he said. "And she followed him down the steps with a board behind her back and whacked him in the head because she just wanted him to leave."

Police have said Vargas fled Morini's home bloodied, with about $80 and some of Morini's prescription medication.

In a statement, Vargas "admitted to being [in Morini's house]" looking for "money and drugs," Erdely told reporters.

Four days later, Vargas allegedly broke into a truck on Jasper Street near Hazzard, Kensington. David Cortez testified yesterday that he "heard a racket" on the afternoon of April 6 and saw Vargas - whom he identified in court - as the man in his truck.

"I opened the door to grab him," Cortez testified. "We got into a scuffle." Then, Vargas with a knife in his hand, said, " 'I'll kill you. I'll kill you,' " Cortez testified.

Cortez rushed into his house to call police. Tool boxes worth about $450 were taken.

The next day, Cortez said he was driving near his home when he saw Vargas on the street. He alerted SEPTA transit police, who then arrested Vargas.

Vargas also is accused of twice burglarizing another home on the same block as Morini's. On March 6 and on April 7, he allegedly stole jewelry, $1,500 total in cash and electronics from the home of Tan Pham. On the second day, the air conditioner was taken out from a back window, Pham testified yesterday. *