911 Calls Reflect Utah Sisters' Fear During Attack

The two sisters were attacked by a man who broke into their home.

ByABC News
October 22, 2015, 8:31 AM

— -- The 911 calls of two sisters who were allegedly attacked by a man in Utah have been released, reflecting their fear during the violent encounter.

Breann Lasley says she was sending a text message when she heard a man say, “Hey girl, I’m coming in” through her partially open window. It was then that she says she knew something terrible was going to unfold.

“We started throwing punches, he actually put his hand over my mouth and said, ‘Cooperate with me,’” she said of the Sept. 23 encounter, after which she told him, “You're not going to get what you want."

She fought the man -- whom Salt Lake City authorities identified as Robert Berger -- as her sister, Kayli, slept downstairs. She had hoped to keep the man from finding Kayli, but her sister heard the screams and ran upstairs to help.

"I knew from her screams, but from the tone of them, I knew it was something terrible," Kayli Lasley told ABC News. "It wasn't just a mouse; I knew something horrible was happening upstairs."

The women say they struggled against Berger for 15 minutes, but both managed to call 911 and yell out their address to the dispatcher. Several neighbors also called the emergency service.

Berger, 48, then allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Breann in the abdomen and legs.

"He's stabbing my sister, he's stabbing her!" Kayli Lasley could be heard screaming in the dispatcher audio.

Salt Lake City police officer Ben Hone, who was attending to another house in the street where Berger allegedly tried to break in earlier, says he heard the sisters’ screams and ran to help. He ordered him to stop and drop the knife, before shooting and killing him.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office later ruled that the use of force was justified under Utah state law.