The woman remembers waking up and noticing her $24,000 princess-cut diamond wedding ring missing from her finger.
Only moments before, the 49-year-old Cherry Creek resident said, a man had approached her as she pulled groceries from her car, put his arm around her waist, made threats and choked her until she was unconscious.
Another man repeatedly punched her in the face.
All the while, her dog was barking and her husband was inside the house.
“I thought they were going to kill me,” the victim said Wednesday. “I could not figure out what they were after, because they would not tell me. I couldn’t talk; I could barely breathe.”
At least five women in the Cherry Creek, Hilltop and Crestmoor neighborhoods of Denver have been assaulted and robbed of their wedding rings and other jewelry, police records show.
The victims, ranging in age from 40 to 64, were approached by one or two men when they arrived home from shopping.
The robberies apparently began in December.
In the latest case, a woman arrived home July 8 from Crate and Barrel in Cherry Creek North when she was approached in her driveway.
One man waited in a red Honda Accord while another man held a gun on her and demanded her wedding ring.
In previous cases, there was a physical struggle with the victims.
The woman who was choked said the robbers were very brazen because her dog was barking during the June 11 robbery and her husband was home.
She said she doesn’t care if she gets her ring back and would rather get another one given what happened to her.
She called the incident a gift.
“When I woke up, I was so glad to be alive,” she said. “I have been happy ever since.”
One of the robbers is described as a man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build, short brown hair, brown eyes and possibly a short goatee. The other man is also in his 30s, about 5-feet-8, with a stocky build and spiked black hair.
A $2,000 reward is being offered by CrimeStoppers for information leading to the arrest of these men. Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 720- 913-STOP (7867).
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
