Attempted capital murder charge for H-E-B violent robbery suspect

A man out on parole is now charged with attempted capital murder for slashing a woman's throat during an attack outside the HEB at South Congress and Oltorf last month.

Austin Police filed the elevated charges against Edward Roy Bennett, 49, on Wednesday. He was arrested back on May 23rd for violating his parole.

Police say on May 19th Bennett left the transitional center for a medical appointment and never returned.

"The parolee defeated the device which deactivated it and allowed it to discharge. The GPS unit was not functioning and he hadn't reported to the center," said APD Detective TJ Vineyard.

His last known location or signal was transmitted at 5:50 p.m. on May 19th. The TDCJ says an alert was sent and a warrant was issued on the 20th. Hours later around 1:30 a.m. on May 20th Bennett followed a woman to her car and demanded a ride. Then, he attacked her with a construction tool and slashed her throat with a razor blade. Initially police and paramedics believed the victim might die but doctors rushed her to surgery and she's out of the hospital recovering.

The media coverage alerted Bennett's parole officer who called police. "Because of this person's violent history and proximity and time of the attack the officer was concerned the suspect might be involved," said Vineyard.

Bennett was released from prison in February and assigned to the Austin Transitional Center as part of his parole. He was under intensive supervision which means he was required to live at the center and wear an ankle monitor. Bennett served time for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and attacking a jailer.

Catching him became a top priority. APD assigned specialized units to search for Bennett. According to his arrest affidavit officers on duty working security with Capital Metro spotted him at 6th and Congress. They say he colored his hair and tried to alter his appearance. When he was arrested officers say he bragged about how violent he is and that when he got back to jail he wanted to kill a guard.

Police say fingerprint evidence puts Bennett at the crime scene and he's back in jail. Bennett is in the Travis County Jail on a $1 million bond.