Elderly man who survived brutal Christmas Eve beating continues recovery, suspects still at large

MORAINE — It’s been more than a year since someone beat and tied down a 95-year-old man, leaving him for dead on Christmas.

As News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott reported, his attackers still have not been caught.

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“They didn’t kill him, he wasn’t dead, but they took his life from him,” Ron Quillen the man’s nephew said.

At 94 years old Pete Donegia found himself in the hospital for the first time in his life for injuries so gruesome they can’t be shown on television.

“I mean they truly left him for dead when they taped his arms ....his skin was removed,” Quillen said.

His face was beaten so badly that his eye swelled shut with deep purple bruises.

“He loved his string instruments ... He can’t play a guitar because of the damage, he has lost the feeling in his hand. He can no longer do what he loves to do,” Quillen said.

An independent man before the attack, he now lives in Flordia at an assisted living center as he continues to recover.

“He’s in good care it’s unfortunate the majority of his family lives up here,” Quillen said.

For Donegia’s nephew, this past year has been painful.

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“Most normal men and women would not have been able to survive the beating this man took. He was a cowboy worker his entire life. It’s like he trained his entire life to survive this,” Quillen said.

He said his uncle is a rarity, one of the most going men he’s ever met.

“he was just the kindest, gentlest person that I knew,” he said.

Not someone who deserved to be beaten nearly to death and still not have closure as to who did it.

“We would like to see justice done and the people that did it are still alive and they still have a chance to make this right,” Quillen said.

Police said they have a person of interest and the serial number of the guns stolen from the home but not enough evidence to make an arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to reach out to Moriane Police Department, the family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect.

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