Boyfriend reportedly confesses to killing woman, 53, in apartment
Danny Patterson, Jr., 39, left, had dated Vanessa Tucker, 53, right, off and on for about five years, according to her sister.
By SARAH MERVOSH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A Toledo woman was beaten to death over the weekend by her boyfriend at the Regina Manor apartment complex where they lived, according to police and witnesses.
Police responded to a missing-person call about 8:40 p.m. Saturday and found Vanessa Tucker, 53, dead inside the apartment. Her head and face were beaten, Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre said.
Danny Patterson, Jr., 39, of 3722 Manhattan Blvd. confessed to causing her death, police said, but Chief Navarre declined to comment on the details of the confession. Mr. Patterson was taken into custody at the scene.
Willie Ann Byrd, 56, the victim's sister, said Ms. Tucker was a mother, a grandmother, and a beautiful, giving woman.
"That was my heart," Ms. Byrd said of her sister. "She loved everybody. [She] would do anything for you."
Ms. Tucker and Mr. Patterson had been dating on and off for five years, Ms. Byrd said. She said her sister had been trying to leave him when she was killed.
Ms. Byrd, who also lives at Regina Manor, said Mr. Patterson called her about 11 a.m. Saturday to say her sister had left and had not taken her keys and cell phone with her. That's when she knew something wasn't right.
"She takes her phone everywhere she goes," she said. "Nothing was adding up."
Ms. Byrd tried to find her sister, but Mr. Patterson had blocked his apartment door with a couch on Saturday, barricading Ms. Tucker and himself inside, according to Chief Navarre and Mrs. Byrd. Family members called police at 8:38 p.m. and reported Ms. Tucker missing because they had not heard from her, the chief said.
Margaret Dixon, 46, who lives above the couple, said she heard noises the day Ms. Tucker was found dead. "She was fighting for her life," she said.
Julie Crockett, 53, who lives across the hall from the couple's apartment, said the two had a history of quarreling, but she was surprised by Ms. Tucker's violent death.
Ms. Crockett said Mr. Patterson was usually quiet. She called Ms. Tucker a "beautiful and wonderful woman" who often could be seen in the complex's community room cooking and cleaning.
Ms. Byrd, who knew Mr. Patterson before he started dating her sister, said he was generally a "nice guy" and an "intelligent young man." But she said she suspected something was wrong Saturday.
"She was the sweetest person ever," Ms. Byrd said of her sister.
Ms. Tucker's autopsy probably will be done Monday, Chief Navarre said.
Contact Sarah Mervosh at:
smervosh@theblade.com
or 419-724-6050.
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