Alleged victim of suspected serial killer explains how she survived attack

By Cheryl Mercedes - bio | email

LAFAYETTE, LA (WAFB) - An alleged victim of suspected serial killer Jeffery Lee Guillory, who ended up badly beaten but alive, says she used a frightening lie to her attacker, a move which may have saved her life.

Johnnie Martinez believes Guillory was the man who walked up to her at a bus stop in Lafayette asking for change in December 2007. She said when he grabbed her arm her instinct was to hit him and she told him that, but he yelled at her to "come on." She said she responded by swinging at him. According to Martinez, she told her attacker she had AIDS so he would let her go. She does not have the disease, but that clever move could very well have saved her life.

Martinez opened up about the attack at a Lafayette Consolidated Council meeting back in January 2008, one month after she was allegedly beaten. She told those in attendance how the beating left one side of her face swollen and one of her eyes completely shut. That same month, a tip to Crime Stoppers landed Guillory in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center in connection with the beating.

The last address on file for Guillory is the Acadiana Outreach Center in downtown Lafayette. It assists the poor and homeless with trying to get their lives on a different track. A spokeswoman for the facility does acknowledge Guillory was a resident, but would not comment further. Homeowners within a mile of the shelter said they have been concerned about the types of people who spend time at the shelter. They would like to meet with center officials to address those issues.

Jeffery Lee Guillory was charged with the murders of three Baton Rouge women after police reported DNA evidence linked him to two of the crime scenes.

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