Actress Pauley Perrette headed to church Sunday to emotionally heal after being physically assaulted by a "psychotic, homeless man" after exiting her Hollywood home on Nov. 12, reported in ET. "I prayed as hard as I've ever prayed for anything ever in my life," she said about her reactions during the beating.
An eyewitness at the Hollywood United Methodist Church told ET that Perrette was in "good spirits" as she attended Sunday's service "with her police friend, Nicole, who was with her following the attack, and her pal James, who helped track down the man police arrested."
The pastor at the Methodist Church called attention to Perrette's traumatic event during his sermon.
"Even though this man was punching her and threatening her life, Pauley prayed for her safety and for him," the pastor told the congregation. "One, she was able to pull the strings of God's love for each of us ...and was able to ask his name, then connect with him on a human level and say, 'Your name is William?' That's my sweet nephew's name, too. When Pauley was telling her story to the media on Friday, first by proclaiming herself as a person of faith.
"...Second, she proclaimed her forgiveness for the man who assaulted her. And third, she not only called attention to the critical need for mental health services in our country but especially here in Hollywood."
Following the sermon, church members applauded, and Perrette gave thanks by putting her hands in the air. The CBS star received hugs and kisses from parishioners. "So so so good to be at church today," she tweeted on Sunday.
The 46-year-old, known for playing Abby Sciuto on the television series NCIS, described the entire terrifying event to her 667,000 Twitter followers but admitted that she was "hesitant about tweeting" the news.
"I was walking across my street to a new guest house I bought, to meet my architect. On my street, I was jumped by a VERY psychotic homeless man," she recalled. "He grabbed me forcefully, pinned my arm, punched me in the nose, forehead, repeatedly telling me he was going to kill me. Then he showed me how he was going to kill me."
She told fans she thought she was going to die.
Perrette also told fans: "He told me he was going to kill me several times and I absolutely believed him. I thought, anything I do would escalate the situation - I couldn't overcome him, he was stronger than me."
"That's all I said, all I did, other than praying my heart out," Perrette recounted.
She said he started punching her again, yelled profanities, but eventually walked away. She immediately texted a friend and a police officer from her church, who had her draw a sketch of the man. She said he was arrested after police followed her friend to him.
According to police reports, a 45-year-old white male suspect named David Merck was booked on felony battery charges after arresting him at a Hollywood 7-Eleven around 6 p.m. He is still in custody and bail is set at $100,000, according to ET.
"I am shaken and traumatized," she said in Twitter messages. "My house, my beloved Hollywood. My beloved homeless people that I spend my life protecting. My life changed tonight."
