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‘She was in a fight for her life': Man arrested months after jogger attacked in Cheraw

CHERAW, S.C. — A man is facing charges months after he attacked a woman who was jogging in Cheraw, police said.

Eric Demond Davis, 32, was arrested Thursday and is charged with aggravated assault and kidnapping.

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Police said the 42-year-old victim was out jogging the morning of Sept. 7 along Jersey Street when Davis attacked her.

“He ran up behind her, knocked her to the ground and began to strangle her,” Cheraw Police Chief W. Keith Thomas said.

Police said they believe Davis, a man she didn’t know, was trying to pull her into a wooded area to sexually assault her.

They said what she did next likely saved her life.

“He had her from behind and on top. She was trying to fight with hands, trying to scratch in the face. She said, ‘I was trying to gouge his eyes out,’” Thomas said.

The woman was able to break free and run for help.

Over the next two months, detectives said they worked to uncover physical evidence, like Davis' shoe prints, and evidence left on the victim’s body during the fight.

“We had the DNA that was directly off the victim that was linked to the suspect,” Thomas said.

Investigators said Davis was denied bond because of the serious nature of the crime. At the time of the attack, Davis was out on bond in another serious assault case.

“I personally want to commend the victim in this case for her courage and strength that she displayed on the day of the attack,” Thomas said. “She quickly realized that she was in a fight for her life, and she fought with everything she had to get free from her attacker. And because of her will to live, she was able to get free from her attacker and was able to seek help from a passing motorist.”