A WOMAN in Marbella survived a terrifying robbery attempt after an attacker tried to strangle her with a piece of rope on Wednesday.
The victim, who runs a currency exchange bureau in town, managed a narrow escape after the assailant jumped her from behind in a private car park around 8.15pm.
After scampering outside, the woman alerted a group of nearby taxi drivers – who bravely chased the suspect and pinned him to the ground until police arrived on the scene moments later.
“It was a very traumatic experience,” the victim told Malaga Hoy. “This is the first time something like this happens to me.”
“I have bumps on my head, a bruise on my face, and rope marks around my neck,” she added.
The woman recounted the chilling moment the lurking attacker wrapped the rope around her neck in the car park.
“He was strangling me,” she said. “All I could think about was getting that rope off my neck.”
During the ensuing tussle, the pair tumbled to the ground and the woman heard a metallic clatter as the assailant allegedly dropped a knife he had been carrying.
“I really feared for my life at that point,” the victim said.
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Realising the attacker may have been after her money, the woman grabbed her purse and threw it some distance away.
“He went after it and I darted out of the car park,” she said.
“I warned [the taxi drivers] outside, telling them a man had tried to strangle me and that he was still inside the car park.”
The robber was detained at the scene after the victim phoned the police.
After the arrest, the victim went to the police station to report the assault. She said she did not know the attacker at all, although she believes he may have been targeting her for some time.
“Because of the type of business I run, many people with money come in. I suppose he thought to wait until I left,” she said.
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The woman has been summoned for a fast-track trial and ID parade this Thursday.
“He was not wearing any disguise; I saw him perfectly, although with the shock and adrenaline of the moment everything is more difficult,” she said.
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