Man charged with zip-tying woman's neck and beating, carjacking her in Harwood Heights denied bail

HARWOOD HEIGHTS, Ill. (WLS) -- It is a short Hardwood Heights block that sits right next to Chicago's Wilbur Wright College.

Neighbors who live there have always viewed the 4400 block of Natchez Avenue as being relatively safe, but that changed this week.

"I lived here my entire life and we never see stuff like this. I woke up yesterday morning, I walk out to a crime scene," said Peggy Dunaj.

One of their neighbors was severely beaten during a carjacking.

"I just moved here like, a year ago, and so far, the neighborhood, pretty quiet and pretty safe. And, the morning I walked out and saw police, it surprised me. I wasn't expecting this," said Bau Tran.

A 24-year-old homeless man, originally from Urbana, is being held without bail for the crime.

Police said on Wednesday around 6:30 a.m., Reese Miller pulled a 61-year-old woman out of her car, placed a zip tie around her neck and beat her head against the ground before taking off in her car.

Prosecutors said Miller wrote a note, saying, in part, "I am deeply sorry for hurting people." Police said a Ring camera placed Miller at the scene, but video did not capture the carjacking.

"It's horrible. It's senseless, for what? If he wanted the car that bad, even if he was mentally not all there, push the lady out of the way, we are talking about frail little lady, little tiny person," Dunaj said.

The woman is in very critical condition on life support. Miller was eventually caught in Crete, where police said license plate reader technology helped track him down.

Charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated vehicular carjacking, police said Miller has no criminal record and had never been arrested before. Miller's public defender said he suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder.