A woman has spoken about the bizarre carjacking experience she had, in which the two suspects listened to jazz and even apologised for taking her money.
Becky Brown, 73, said she was trapped in her car by two men - one armed with a knife - on Tuesday 11 April as she sat outside her home in Houston, Texas at around 11.30pm. You can see her talk about the carjacking here:
In an interview with ABC News, Brown said the three of them spent two hours in the car, with jazz music playing, as the carjackers attempted to wire cash from her bank account, but couldn’t do so due to its security measures.
Eventually, the men drove Brown to a nearby ATM where she was ordered to withdraw $2,000 from her account and hand it over.
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However, rather than be angry after the ordeal, Brown has said she feels sorry for the men and even suggested one of them had a ‘kindness’ about him.
She said: “There's a dichotomy of what's going on in our culture. I feel sorry for him in a way. From somewhere in him, he had this kindness, and he meant it.”
Brown said that she tried to remain calm while being held against her will.
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“I really don't think they would have killed me, but I was concerned,” she added.
“Is he going to take that knife out and slash my face or my arm? It was an eight-inch blade. I just felt like if I were to remain calm, they would stay calm, and I'm here, and I'm alive.”
After being unsuccessful at getting money wired from Brown’s account, she drove to a nearby Wells Fargo and got out of the car to withdraw the cash.
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Brown says she walks with a limp due to having had hip surgery and when she returned with the money, one of the men told her he wished he could have helped her to get to the ATM but said he was concerned about the cameras.
Brown then drove back towards her home, letting the men out nearby - and says that during their time in the car she talked about her health and told the men she wished she was in better health so she could attend concerts.
She added: “When they got out of my car, the last thing the guy, who had never said anything, said to me was, ‘Go to your music festivals’."
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Somewhat incredibly, Brown also said she would visit the men if they were sent to jail.
“If he were to go to jail, I would visit him," she said. "Yeah, I would go visit him.”
A 20-year-old man called Andre Williams has been arrested in relation to the incident and is currently in custody with a $30,000 bail. The other man remains at large.
Claire Reid