Investigators said the suspects came to a home at 212-03 15th Ave., in Bayside at about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday. The two, described as male Hispanics by police, knocked on the door and claimed they were maintenance workers.
When the homeowner opened the door, police said the suspects pushed their way inside, assaulted the 85-year-old woman and her 86-year-old husband, ransacked the home and fled on foot. It's unclear if the men stole anything.
The couple was taken to New York Hospital in Queens with serious injuries, but the two are in stable condition. On Wednesday night in Bayside, a New York City Police Department helicopter searched for the suspects, while K-9 units and police detectives scoured the crime scene looking for clues.
The incident left people in the quiet, residential community rattled.
"I see this poor woman lying down in horrific pain, blood all over her face, her face totally swollen, and she kept saying, 'Help me, help me, my husband, my husband," said Larry Frey, a neighbor.
Linda, who wanted to be known only by her first name, is a Bay Terrace resident and said that everyone in the neighborhood knows the maintenance men there.
"There are so many elderly people here who would willingly open the door, especially if they said 'maintenance man,'" she said. The maintenance men "do come around every once in a while."
Another Bay Terrace resident, who asked to be referred to only as Dee, said it is a trusting neighborhood. "A lot of people, especially the originals as they call themselves, they trust the people who work here," she said. "It's terrible. It really is."
The couple's daughter said Wednesday night that her mother had facial fractures and that her father had a broken back.
