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James Ransone Hailed as a Hero by Woman He Saved from Attack
James Ransone’s bravery and not just his acting are what’s being remembered.
On Tuesday, Dec. 23, an Instagram post by Molly Watts revealed that the late actor had intervened and saved her from a sexual assault outside his New York City apartment back in 2006.
“I only found out that @jamesransone had passed away yesterday,” she penned with a picture of The Wire actor. “Typically, I am a very private person but I want to publicly express that I am so thankful that this man existed and I don’t think my life would have turned out the same way if he hadn’t.”
In her post, Watts detailed that she and Ransone were neighbors in Chinatown and that she was “attacked at the very front of our building. I yelled for help. Nobody came.”
Woman Claims That James Ransone Helped Save Her Life
The woman named Molly Watts credits James Ransone with saving her life.
She vividly describes the violent assault in 2006 that took place in front of their building in Chinatown, “My attacker tried to silence me by putting his hands over my mouth and around my neck. I saw nothing else but a blackout. I had the overwhelming feeling I would die or be raped as I was losing consciousness from strangulation.” Watts considered that Ransone whom she referred to by the nickname, PJ was able to help only after he had heard her crying out.
“PJ heard my screams and came running to my aid. He was shirtless, holding a bat or pipe… His presence scared the man who came at me and he ran away. PJ chased the attacker for several blocks. They got the attacker through the police because the arrest was after the chase of the abuser, which also happened to be a sex offender.”
“PJ could really have been my hero,” she said. “It’s a complete life that changed because that night he came running. That night, everything might have ended differently for me… That’s why I was all the more emotionally vulnerable.”
James Ransone Previously Spoke about the Night He Intervened in an Attack
James Ransone has publicly mentioned the 2006 incident when he helped an assault victim on several occasions over the years.
The actor told a story on the Jim and Sam Show in 2016 about the time he came to hear Molly Watts’ scream outside their building in Chinatown: “I was watching TV with my girlfriend at the time. I was only wearing pajama bottoms. It must have been April. It was raining a bit. Then I hear a clear cry for help. I hear a commotion, and I burst out of the door.”
Woman He Once Rescued Pays Heartfelt Tribute to James Ransone After His Death
James Ransone passed away from suicide on Friday, Dec. 19, at the age of 46. The actor was open about his struggles with addiction and disclosed that he was a victim of abuse during his childhood.
Through her message, Molly Watts shared how Ransone’s past impacted her mourning for him. “What makes PJ’s death so unbearable to me is that he was a victim of that kind of violence. I was free from it, he suffered it in a totally different way and at a time when he had no emotional defense and the self was still forming.”
“I feel like PJ was constantly haunted by what happened to him at that time,” she mentioned. “Those who are hurt, vulnerable, and act out are rarely treated with kindness by this world.”
Watts revealed that she has been remembering Ransone quite often throughout the years. “I wanted to let him know how thankful I was that he came running when I was screaming. I never did. I regret that.”