Lee County woman accused of beating, robbing mother

TICE, Fla.  A 32-year-old woman is accused of beating her mother and leaving her for dead, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Holly Reynolds was arrested Monday for allegedly attacking her mother, 56-year-old Debra Miller, after an argument in the woods near Garcia and Balboa avenues, deputies said.

Reynolds struck Miller in the back several times to the point where she was immobilized. She  then left and returned a handful of times to give Miller small amounts of water.

At one point, Reynolds pointed a silver pistol at Miller’s head, stealing her cellphone and EBT card for food stamps, the sheriff’s office said.

Reynolds eventually fled the area.

After spending possibly several days in the woods, Miller was rescued Feb. 7 after an unknown Good Samaritan heard her screaming for help. He placed her on a tarp, carried her out of the woods and called an ambulance, according to deputies.

She was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital, where relatives say she’s so traumatized, security has to guard her hospital room.

“Last night she woke up screaming in a night terror…and the nurse came running in and she said, ‘Get Holly out, get Holly out, get Holly out,”  said Elizabeth, Miller’s sister-in-law. “The nurse said, ‘There’s no one in here…and she said, ‘Yes she is, I see her! I see her!”

Miller is likely to remain in the hospital for several weeks. She’s underwent two surgeries, but doctors are unsure whether she’ll be able to walk again, they said.

It’s unclear why the police report was filed several days after Miller was left stranded.

Reynolds is in custody facing robbery and battery charges with a $25,000 bond.