Kind-hearted grandmother is mercilessly beaten with baseball bat by a stranger who she welcomed in after fake sob story

A kind-hearted grandmother was nearly beaten to death with a metal baseball bat by a stranger she welcomed into her home after he claimed he had been robbed.

Therese Garcia, 71, was sitting on her porch in Crestline, California, last month when Erik Eduardo Navarro, 26, approached her and told her that someone had stolen all of his belongings while he was camping and that he had an upcoming job interview at a nearby hardware store, Garcia’s daughter, Abbie, told NBC Los Angeles.

Garcia then took pity on Navarro and welcomed him into her home, where she cooked for him every night, believing he was a ‘sweet kid’ who had fallen on hard times and needed help.

But her opinion started to change after several days, when Navarro reportedly became more demanding and started taking over her home.

‘He was there a total of six days and he started kind of making demands,’ Abbie recounted to CBS News. ‘He wasn’t really helping with any of the things that he agreed to in the beginning.’

When Garcia then asked Navarro to leave her home, he reportedly waited for her to fall asleep on the couch before he started beating her with a metal baseball bat.

He then beat her for hours, only taking breaks when she lost consciousness, and striking her again every time she woke up, Garcia’s family said.

‘He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,’ Abbie lamented. 

At that point, Navarro allegedly ran off with Garcia’s phone, credit cards, keys and e-bike. 

Deputies with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office only discovered what had happened after neighbors asked for a welfare check on the 71-year-old.

When they then arrived at her house on August 25, they found Garcia suffering from a cut on her forehead, a cut eyebrow, swollen hands and injuries near her eyes that caused swelling that made it difficult for her to see.

Garcia’s family now believes she would have bled to death if the neighbors hadn’t asked for help.

The matriarch has been in the hospital ever since the frightening encounter, with family members describing how she was left vomiting blood for days and had multiple broken bones in her arm, hands and face.

She has been treated for a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed and multiple deep lacerations that required extensive stitching, her family has said.

Garcia’s condition has started to stabilize over the past week, as she started taking some small steps.

Still, she remains in immense pain and is ‘extremely dizzy, exhausted and struggling with the effects of her brain injury.

‘We don’t yet know what her recovery will look like or how much care she will need once she leaves the hospital,’ Abbie wrote in an online fundraiser to help with her mother’s medical expenses.

It notes that Garcia does not have health insurance and may need facial surgery once the swelling subsides, as well as potentially extensive in-home care.

‘Our family is doing everything we can,’ Abbie said. ‘I am her daughter, currently pregnant and caring for my one-year-old. Her son lives in New York and her other daughter is working while raising two children. 

‘We are doing our best to balance our own families while being there for our mom through this nightmare,’ she continued, saying the family ‘would give anything to take this pain away from her.’

Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to search for Navarro, whom Abbie said she genuinely believes will kill somebody if he’s not caught. 

‘My mom didn’t deserve this,’ she said in the fundraiser. ‘She was simply trying to help someone she believed was in need, something she has always done throughout her life. This time, her kindness was met with unimaginable violence.

‘She survived. Now we want to help her truly recover.’

For those who cannot donate, Abbie asked for the public to ‘please keep my mom in your prayers.’

Anyone with information about Navarro’s whereabouts is also asked to call the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office Twin Peaks station at (909) 336-0660.