SALISBURY, Md. - After a four-day trial, the man accused of kidnapping and pushing an 80 year-old-woman into the Wicomico River earlier this year has been found guilty on numerous charges.
According to the Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office, 23-year-old Ralph Harmon Jr., of Salisbury, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree rape, second-degree rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, armed robbery, and related offenses.
In January of 2023, the 80-year-old woman was approached by Harmon in her driveway in Seaford while walking to her car. She was forced at gunpoint into her car by Harmon, pistol whipped, robbed of her jewelry, and was forced to provide her PIN to her debit card.
After crossing into Maryland, officials say Harmon sexually assaulted her and bonded the woman's hands together. Harmon visited multiple ATMs and then drove the woman to a home on Riverside Drive in Salisbury where he forced her to walk onto a dock. He pushed the woman into the water, and when she managed to surface, Harmon again pistol-whipped her, causing her to slip beneath the water. He then walked back to the woman's car and left the area.
After leaving the woman with her hands bound in the river, Harmon proceeded to pick up five of his friends. The attorney's office said they then engaged in a shopping spree.
After more than eleven minutes in the freezing water, the woman was able to free her hands and climb up on a kayak ramp onto the dock. She managed to walk to Riverside Drive where passing drivers called 911.
Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes said the woman is fortunate to be alive.
"She endured incomprehensible terror from the moment Ralph Harmon accosted her in Seaford until she managed to climb from the frigid waters of the Wicomico River nearly two hours later," said Dykes. "Ralph Harmon is the embodiment of evil, but thanks to the courage and fortitude of the victim, the work of law enforcement and prosecutors, and the commitment of the jury, Harmon will be held accountable and I pray that he will never again be in the position to prey upon another innocent victim."
The attorney's office says that sentencing was postponed to allow for a pre-sentencing investigation to be completed and that Harmon will remain in custody pending sentencing.