Elderly Wash. woman attacked with hatchet dies



SEATTLE (AP) -- An 83-year-old woman who was assaulted with a hatchet in a random attack in her home has died.

KOMO News reports (http://bit.ly/tjHKrt) that June Aldrich died Thursday at Harborview Medical Center, nearly a week since she and her husband were brutally attacked by a stranger. Her husband -- 89-year-old Ralph Aldrich -- was fatally shot with a crossbow.

Grays Harbor prosecutors say the couple was randomly attacked by 31-year-old John Chase of Aberdeen, who had been on a lone motorcycle trip on the Olympic Peninsula. Authorities say he camped in the woods adjacent to the couple's home the night before the attack.

After assaulting the couple, authorities say Chase stole their truck and drove to a friend's house, where he told his friend he had killed "two demons."

The friend called police, and then drove to the home where he discovered Ralph's body and June, who was still alive.

