Diner owner dies following brutal attack by home intruder

**GRAPHIC WARNING: Photos in this story may be disturbing to some.**

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A North Carolina woman is dead one week after her family says she was attacked by a home intruder.

According to family members, 60-year-old Paula Clark was brutally beaten with brass knuckles and shot in the eye with a BB gun on May 6 in Hendersonville. Her daughter, Latasha Jones, said she was home at the time but didn’t wake up until she heard her mother crying out.

She was like, ‘Oh God, please help me. Somebody, please help me. Oh, dear God, please help me.’ And when I opened my door, I [saw] my mom standing there,” Jones recalled. “She was holding her hands like this, just dripping blood from her face.”

Jones said Clark was taken to Mission Hospital by ambulance. She was released several days later following a surgery on her eye and was scheduled to have another later in the week. Clark’s health began declining, though, and she was taken to Pardee Hospital on May 13 to treat an infection, Jones said. She died that day. According to Jones, an autopsy revealed sepsis.

“She was an amazing person,” Jones said. “She would just give anybody the shirt off her back.”

Clark was a staple at The Dixie Diner in Hendersonville. Her granddaughter, Jordan Collins, said Clark worked there as a waitress for years before taking ownership of the business six months ago. It was a life-long dream of hers to own her own restaurant.

It’s very difficult to be here without her here because this was her place,” Collins said. “This was something that she cherished and loved very much.”

A small memorial now sits outside the entrance. A sign taped to the front door reads, "Temporarily closed." Collins and Jones want to get the business back up and running in honor of Clark.

“Mama would be highly irate to know that this diner is closed right now,” Jones said.

According to Jones, though, the business contract stated that upon Clark’s death the diner would revert to the previous owner, Vickie Olek. Jones said Olek has already had the locks changed.

WLOS reached out to Olek, who said she plans to reopen but does not know when. Olek, who stated she owned The Dixie Diner for 24 years, said she’s open to selling the business.

While Clark’s family grieves the loss of their matriarch and the diner, they’re also focused on getting justice.

“We deserve it, and so does Nana. Nana deserves justice,” Collins said. “She was innocent, she was sweet, she would give anything to anyone.”

The family believes they know who was behind the attack, and they gave that information to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. According to Collins, things have become increasingly frustrating as HCSO detectives have been tight-lipped and hard to reach.

“It just seems like it’s being pushed away and not being put a priority,” Collins said. “I mean, technically, it’s a homicide.”

A spokesperson for HCSO declined to comment, “in an attempt to ensure the integrity of the investigation.”