MACON, Ga. — A homeless woman in Macon says she woke up this week to someone hitting her over the head with a brick.
Te'Arie Register's family is now searching for answers as the Bibb County Sheriff's Office investigates. The sheriff's office's report says the attack happened on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Mulberry Street. The report says Register went to sleep around 11 p.m. Tuesday night and soon had to get herself to the hospital.
Karla Nobles, Register's sister, was already worried for her when someone beat Albert Knight, Jr. to death last month in a similar fashion. The attacks happened within a half-mile of each other, and within three weeks.
Both attacks also involved concrete bricks being used as a weapon against a homeless person, according to an incident report from Bibb County Sheriff's Office. However, the sheriff's office says they believe the attacks are unrelated.
This week, Nobles' fears were realized as the bench Register slept on became a crime scene.
"She could have been dead. I mean, what's going on on these streets now is not where I'd want anybody's family member," Nobles said. "Getting hit over the head multiple times, I'm surprised she walked out of it."
Register managed to walk away when her attacker dropped the brick. She got herself to the hospital nearly a mile away. The doctors bandaged her up but the damage still remains.
"What they've taken out of her is not fair. For her to have to sleep with the lights on. For her not being able to do what she normally does," Nobles said.
Now, she's focused on helping Register recover, but she also wants justice.
"Whoever's doing this, they need to be locked up. And they need to be put away for a long time. Before they hurt anybody else, or even kill them," Nobles said.
She also wants Register's attacker to know they didn't just beat someone on a bench. They hurt her sister.
"Even though she was living on the streets and she was homeless, she was still loved and cared for," Nobles said.
The sheriff's office advises anyone who's homeless to sleep at one of Macon's overnight shelters. If they're full, they recommend sleeping near someone you know.