92-Year-Old Fatally Stabbed During Southeast Charlotte Home Invasion

An elderly woman died early Monday from stab wounds she suffered during a home invasion Sunday evening.

Police said shortly after Mildred Clontz arrived home about 7 p.m. Sunday, a man forced his way into her house on Knickerbocker Drive off Monroe Road in southeast Charlotte. He stabbed the 92-year-old and robbed her before fleeing on foot.

Detectives said it’s possible the robber was waiting for Clontz to return or followed her home when she was out.

Police said the woman was able to call 911 and briefly talked with police after the attack. She also called her son after the attack. Clontz was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center, where she died Monday morning.

Neighbors said Clontz lived alone, but she was still very active. They said they suspect she was targeted because of her age.

“I felt like someone must have known, you know, and stuff that she was there alone and in and out because for it to happen that quick,” said Lori Ussery, who lives across the street.

Ussery said she and her son often saw Clontz out and about despite her age.

Detectives spent several hours at Clontz’s home Monday, focusing most of their time near the back door of the residence. They said the only description the woman could give them is that her attacker was a black male. Investigators have not said what, if anything, was taken from the home.

Because police now have no living witnesses and little to go on, neighbors said they’re unnerved.

“It could have been one of us, but you know, you never know,” Ussery said.

A woman taking a leisurely stroll Monday afternoon even carried her own protection – a golf club and mace.