Police: Woman Broke Into Ex's House & Attacked His Sleeping Son, 8, With Dumbbell

LANDOVER, Md. (WJZ)—It was a frightening ordeal for an 8-year-old Maryland boy. His dad's ex-girlfriend is accused of hiding in a closet for 12 hours and attacking the boy when his dad went to work.

Mary Bubala has more on how he fought off the attacker.

Jacob Soliz-Amaya is smiling now. He's feeling better, too, even with a row of medical staples in his head.

The pain has faded. The memory of what happened has not.

"I remember all of it. When I woke up, she was smothering me," he said.

The person charged with the attack: 26-year-old Helen Newsome. Late last week, Jacob's father broke off a relationship with her.

Police say she then broke into the house Saturday morning and hid in a closet while waiting for an opportunity to attack the boy in his bed.

"She was trying to hurt him by hurting me because he loves me more than anything because I'm his son. I head butted her. She wasn't looking, so I ran out," Soliz-Amaya said.

He says Newsome then hit him on the head with a dumbbell, but he still managed to run to safety.

Newsome is charged with attempted first-degree murder. Police say it could have been much worse.

"The boy is a hero. He fought off someone who was attempting to take his life," an officer said.

The boy's parents are horrified and angry at what happened, but they both say they couldn't be more proud of their son.

"He fought her off. He did what he needed to do to survive," his mother said.

"That's as brave as a kid can get," his father said.

"I don't like getting smothered or getting beaten up," Soliz-Amaya said.

Newsome remains behind bars.

The Prince George's County police department is working on a special reward to honor the boy's bravery.