Neighbor Of SW OKC Woman Found Dead Saw Suspect

Adrianna Iwasinski, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police find the body of a woman in her Southwest OKC home after a man hiding in her attic came crashing through the ceiling.

Twenty-year-old Dartangan Cotton is now in the Oklahoma County jail and is accused of murder.  He lived just two houses away from the victim.

Police found Cotton hiding in the house of 56-year-old Paula Martin. The also found Paula dead inside her bedroom.

Police were called to the 500 block of S.W. 48th Street after neighbors called them. They say they saw a man inside Martin's car, which was parked in the driveway and then saw him going into the house.

"We saw a black man in the neighbor's car and we knew that wasn't right because she keeps to herself." said one neighbor.

We chose to protect the identity of that neighbor and where she lives. But she and her husband called 911.

She says she and her husband rushed to Martin's house to make sure she was okay, and to keep the man inside from making a getaway.

"I was at the front door my husband was in the backyard and he seen the guy peek out of the curtain," said the neighbor.

A neighbor says police arrived within minutes, but it was too late.

"I just broke down," she said. "I couldn't believe it. All my prayers go out to her family just wish we could have done more. wish we could have saved her."

9/7/2011 Related Story: Police Arrest Murder Suspect Who Fell Through Victim's Ceiling In Southwest OKC