An Arizona mother fought back against a man she says forced his way into her home and seized her by the neck after asking to use the bathroom, with the frightening confrontation captured on security video.
The footage shows Bella Torres striking and pushing back the alleged intruder, identified by police as 20-year-old Adrian Ayala, outside her Buckeye home on Friday. As she confronted him, Torres shouted, “What the f*** is wrong with you?”
Ayala appeared unsteady as he responded, “I was on drugs. I’m on drugs.”
He later claimed Torres’ boyfriend had sent him to the house. But when Torres asked him to name her husband, Ayala offered no answer.
When Torres’ husband arrived and began walking toward the pair, Ayala ran from the property.
Torres told Arizona Family that the incident happened as she was preparing to take her children to a “Trunk or Treat” event.
Her husband, who was dressed as Shrek for the celebration, had briefly gone to a nearby store. Torres remained at home with their one-year-old daughter when the front-door alarm suddenly sounded.
She initially assumed her husband had returned. Instead, a stranger opened the door and entered the house.
Bella Torres described how an alleged intruder entered her Buckeye, Arizona, home last Friday and grabbed her by the throat
Security footage shows Torres confronting and pushing back the alleged attacker, identified by police as 20-year-old Adrian Ayala
“All he says is, ‘Can I use your restroom?’ And as he says ‘restroom,’ he starts to charge at me and grabs my neck,” Torres told 12 News.
The struggle spilled into the kitchen and bathroom. Torres said Ayala kicked her daughter during the confrontation and ordered her to remove her clothing.
“My first instinct is just to protect her,” Torres said of her child.
She eventually managed to break free and began calling out for assistance.
“I start running towards the door, it’s still wide open at this point,” she recalled. “I screamed as loud as I could for help.”
A neighbor heard the screams and called police.
The confrontation then continued outside, where surveillance cameras recorded Torres physically battling the alleged attacker and forcing him away.
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After reaching safety, Torres posted the video online to alert people in the neighborhood and help authorities identify the suspect.
According to court documents obtained by Arizona Family, one of Ayala’s relatives recognized him in the footage and provided his identity to Buckeye police.
Ayala faces multiple felony counts, including aggravated assault, burglary and sexual assault, and was released on a $25,000 appearance bond
Ayala was caught on the surveillance footage approaching Torres’ home
Ayala could be heard saying in the footage that he was on drugs and claiming that Torres’ husband had sent him to the home
He declined to speak to police after he was taken into custody.
But at his initial court appearance on Sunday, an attorney for the 20-year-old called the entire situation ‘a giant misunderstanding.’
He claimed his client was drawn to the home by Torres’ husband for a ‘role playing scenario’ that the two men had agreed upon on Reddit.
‘He understood from the victim’s boyfriend that this is something that they did and the victim was consenting to,’ the lawyer argued.
Still, a judge found probable cause for several felony charges, including aggravated assault, burglary and sexual assault.
‘I don’t care if her husband said he could go in there and do that, that’s not a defense,’ the judge declared. ‘That’s problematic.’
His attorney called the entire situation ‘a giant misunderstanding’ at Ayala’s initial court appearance on Sunday
Torres is now fighting back against Ayala’s claims, insisting that he is a complete stranger to both her and her husband.
Neighbors had even seen Ayala walking around other houses in the area before he approached her house, Torres noted as she argued: ‘I just got caught in the crossfire.’
‘It’s just gross,’ she told 12 News. ‘I can’t count how many times I’ve tried to take a shower.’
She added that she will now be taking additional steps to keep her family safe, including by ‘getting more cameras.’
Court records show Ayala has been released from custody on a $25,000 appearance bond. In the meantime, police said they have obtained both Ayala’s phone and Torres’ phone to investigate his claims that the two coordinated the attack.
