A Man in Oregon Wore a Halloween Mask While Attacking a Woman and Babysitter. He Was Recently Found Dead.

A Halloween mask-wearing man in Oregon who attacked a woman and then stabbed a man during an assault shortly before Halloween in 2021, was recently found dead.

Joshua William Cates, then 31, was arrested and pleaded not guilty to multiple charges against him, including first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree assault, strangulation, unlawful use of a weapon, and attempting to commit a felony in connection with the crime in Eugene on Oct. 22 two years ago.

Police said Cates followed a woman to her residence while wearing a Halloween mask.

After the victim parked her vehicle and had the door propped open to get out, Cates allegedly attacked her and attempted to pull her into the vehicle, according to police.

The woman struggled to fight off the suspect and was ultimately helped by a man babysitting inside a residence who came out to intervene, authorities said.

The babysitter got the suspect off of the woman, but during the struggle, Cates stabbed him.

The suspect ran off and the babysitter gave chase. The male victim then found a neighbor with a vehicle, who drove with him to look for the suspect.

During this search, they realized the babysitter had a stab wound, and he was driven back to the residence.

Police could not initially find the suspect. Eugene, Oregon, police investigated and identified Cates as a suspect from his vehicle and evidence left at the scene.

Cates was located a short time later, concealed in the back of a vehicle of a friend and not far away from the location of the attack.

He was convicted of all the charges against him in June 2023. He was recently found dead from an apparent suicide in his cell at the Lane County Jail.