LAS VEGAS - Wanted for murder in Arizona, 53-year-old Wade Ridley was caught in Las Vegas. Authorities pulled over Ridley near the Hard Rock Sunday in the car belonging to an ex-girlfriend in Arizona.
Ridley confessed to attacking the 62-year-old woman at her Phoenix home Thursday with a machete and butcher knife. That was not, however, the first time Ridley allegedly went on a savage attack.
Hsuemi-Mei Yeh witnessed a horrifying scene the night of January 21 outside her home near Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard. From her upstairs window, Hsuemi-Mei soon realized her neighbor, local realtor Mary Kay Beckman, was in grave danger.
"I heard screaming. I thought it was kids. I thought it was teenagers," she said. "I saw the guy bend up and holding something in his hand. Bam, bam, bam. Eight times. I was counting… so, I called 911."
Beckman was stomped and stabbed repeatedly with a knife. Amazingly, she survived the vicious attack.
"All I could see is bleeding everywhere. All I could see is her two eyes," Yeh said.
Wade Ridley met Beckman on the online dating site Match.com. According to court documents, the two had only gone out for 10 days, and he was furious about the break-up. In his confession to police, Ridley said he hid in Beckman's condo. In the concealment of darkness, police say he attacked and stabbed her when she got home. According to the arrest report, he said, "He wanted to kill her. He wanted her to die."
"I was happy I called 911 for her. Someone has got to do something," Yeh said.
Beckman was sent to the intensive care unit at University Medical Center. Hospital officials say she has since been discharged.
Ridley faces a long list of charges, including attempted murder, burglary, robbery, mayhem with a deadly weapon and battery. He still faces extradition to Arizona for the murder charge against him.
Wade Ridley
