A 75-year-old woman has been left permanently blinded in one eye after a horrific, unprovoked attack in broad daylight in Seattle. The assailant, identified by police as a notorious repeat offender, allegedly used a wooden board embedded with nails as a weapon.
A Life-Altering Assault in Broad Daylight
The victim, Jeanette Marken, was walking near an intersection when 42-year-old Fale Vaigalepa Pea crept up behind her. Without warning, he is alleged to have swung the makeshift weapon – a piece of wood with protruding nails – striking the elderly woman in the face with full force. The impact knocked her to the ground.
A quick-thinking bystander captured an image of the fleeing suspect before rushing to aid the severely injured woman. That bystander then directed a King County Sheriff's deputy to the attacker, leading to Pea's arrest near the scene.
A 'Notorious' Offender with a Lengthy Rap Sheet
Bodycam footage from the arrest reveals an officer immediately recognising Pea, describing him as a "regular" who is "notorious for random assaults" in the area. "He usually punches," the officer remarked. "I guess today he decided to escalate from his usual."
Pea's criminal history is extensive and troubling. According to local reports, it dates back to 2011 when he was convicted of stabbing two people at a party, one victim eight times. Despite a guilty verdict for that savage attack, he received only an 18-month community custody sentence.
His record continued to grow with offences in 2020, four more in 2023, and another in 2024. Shockingly, the King County jail reported that Pea had been booked into custody eight times already this year for charges including assault, indecent exposure, drug offences, and property destruction. Seattle Municipal Court and King County Superior Court records indicate none of his 2024 arrests resulted in charges – until the alleged attack on Marken.
A Family's Anguish and a System Under Scrutiny
The nail protruding from the board gouged out Marken's right eye. After several surgeries, doctors confirmed she will never recover sight in that eye. Her son, Andrius Dyrikis, expressed the family's devastation and confusion at the random brutality. "To take a wood club with nails and hit her at full force in the face? I don't understand it," he said.
His anguish has turned to anger at a justice system he believes failed to protect the public. Upon learning police referred to his mother's alleged attacker as a "usual," Dyrikis demanded answers: "He's a usual? A usual what? Attacking people? Civilians? What the hell is wrong with your system?"
Prosecutors have now charged Pea with first-degree assault for the attack on Marken. In charging documents, they cited his "egregious actions" and "prior assaultive criminal history" as proof he is "a substantial danger to the community." Pea remains in custody awaiting a competency hearing later this month.
Dyrikis says he wants accountability and action: "I want someone to at least say to my mom, 'Hey, we’re working on this, we’re fixing it... I want them to say, ‘we notice, hey, we’re working on it.'" The case has ignited fresh debate about repeat offenders and public safety in the city.
