‘He hit me hard.’ Palm Desert man recalls violent attack by alleged burglar now accused of two Coachella Valley killings

A Palm Desert man is reliving the terrifying night he was assaulted in his own home. He's sharing his harrowing account of surviving an attack, allegedly by the man police now tie to two Coachella Valley killings.

Henry Fraley and his mother Renee were both sound asleep inside their Palm Desert home on the morning of August 15. Henry says he found himself face to face with an intruder when he woke up to get a glass of water. The intruder was later identified by court documents as Luis Miguel Flores Cantor, 31.

After entering through the garage door, Cantor met Henry in the hallway outside his bedroom.

"There was a man...So close that I could touch him, and in fact, he reached out and punched me right in the face."

Henry Fraley, Assault survivor

"He hit me hard... blood coming down my face," Henry said.

They fought in a dark hallway and Henry yelled out for his mother to grab a gun.

"I opened the door to hear him yelling that there was an intruder in the house and to give him the gun that is in my room," Renee said.

Henry recalls the chilling words he heard Cantor responded.

"It was at that point he said back to me… 'I got something for you in my car,'" Henry said.

The struggle continued but Cantor ran off after Henry pushed him away so he could get the weapon.

While Henry's injuries have been healing, his memories of the crime are still fresh. But what the Fraleys didn't know until Friday is that police had arrested a man they say assaulted him, but also allegedly killed two other people during home break-ins.

"I am overwhelmed by the fact that yes we had a burglar, yes we had someone come into our home, and yes my purse was taken, but to find out he was a murder," Renee said.

Henry said he's actually lived in New York for a decade but in a rare moment, the Fraleys say, the pandemic was a blessing because he meant he was by her side during this year.

"Who knows what could have happened," Henry said.

"To have my life and to have Henry here. That was just God's will that he happened to be with me," Renee said.

The investigations

On Wednesday, authorities announced a suspect has been arrested for two murders that took place months apart in Palm Springs. Luis Miguel Flores Cantor, 31, was arrested in connection with the killings of Jennifer Dillon, 59, and Joseph Rajczi, 80. Authorities said both murders took place during burglaries at the victims' Coachella Valley homes.

Jennifer Dillon was killed in January. Joseph Rajczi was killed in July. Investigators say Cantor broke into their Palm Springs homes and killed them. Throughout the summer months, prosecutors allege Cantor broke into at least three other houses in Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage.

More coverage: Jenny Dillon’s wife reacts to alleged killer's arrest and community remembers Joseph Rajczi, 80-year-old Holocaust survivor killed in Palm Springs

According to court documents obtained by News Channel 3, in one of those cases, he is accused of violently assaulting a man in his home in mid-August. On Friday, News Channel 3 reporter Madison Weil visited that home and spoke with the victim and his mother.

Investigation Timeline

Cantor appeared briefly in court the day following the announcement of his arrest. His arraignment was delayed and he is due in court again next week.

News Channel 3 will continue to track updates in this case.