Late Thursday evening in Rochester, NY, a prowler expected to burglarize the residence of 82-year-old Willie Murphy. Instead, he was hauled off to the hospital after quickly learning "he picked the wrong house" to break into.
Award-winning bodybuilder Willie Murphy told 13 WHAM that on November 21, she was on her way to bed, when around 11 p.m. she heard a man's voice and loud knocking on her front door.
“He was outside and saying, ‘Please call an ambulance,’ saying, ‘I’m sick, I'm sick’” she recounted, according to the Rochester-based, ABC-affiliate news station.
Though Murphy refused to allow him inside, she did call the police. However, this angered the man, Murphy reportedly explained. Suddenly, she then heard a loud noise.
“I’m thinking, what the heck was that? The young man is in my home. He broke the door.”
Because it was dark, the champion athlete was able to hide as the intruder walked throughout her home. Thinking fast, she managed to grab the closest object to defend herself: a table.
"I picked up the table, and I went to work on him," she said, according to WHAM. “The table broke."
Although this is when Murphy said the man "went down," she didn’t let up. While he was still on the ground, Murphy doused the intruder with baby shampoo and continued hitting him — this time using a broom.
When the police finally arrived, the man was carted off to the hospital as Murphy was applauded by first responders on the scene.
“The officers that came wanted to go on my front porch and take selfies with me,” Murphy said.
As Murphy told reporters, the intruder "picked the wrong house to break into." Lauded for her ability to deadlift 225 lbs., the 82-year-old powerlifter was already considered a hero by the local Rochester community. Her inspirational fitness journey was even featured during a Nov. 2018 segment of theToday Show.
Though a terrifying incident, the grandmother's recent brush with danger will surely elevate status from local hero to national legend.
