BOYNTON BEACH, FL — A 26-year-old woman is behind bars after deputies say she attacked a stranger, choked her nearly unconscious, and sped off in the victim’s own car in a terrifying early morning confrontation.
Olivia Sydney Mora was taken into custody by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office following what investigators describe as a violent and unprovoked carjacking that unfolded just as the victim was preparing to leave town.
According to the arrest report, deputies were called to the scene around 6:05 a.m. Saturday after receiving a 911 call about a carjacking in progress. The victim told investigators she had just settled into the driver’s seat of her gray Kia, ready to head out on a trip to Tampa, when Mora suddenly yanked the door open. Witnesses say Mora shouted that “they are going to kill me” before grabbing the victim and choking her as she tried to pull her from the vehicle.
The victim said the pressure around her neck was so intense she feared she might lose consciousness before finally breaking free. In the chaos, her cell phone was knocked to the ground, but she managed to snatch it back just before Mora climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away with the stolen car.
Investigators quickly used License Plate Reader technology to track the vehicle as it moved through Delray Beach and looped back toward Boynton Beach. About an hour later, around 7:06 a.m., deputies spotted the Kia near Gateway Boulevard and Congress Avenue. A felony traffic stop was conducted, and Mora was arrested without further incident.
Once on scene, the victim identified Mora as her attacker, telling deputies the two were complete strangers. She said she wanted to move forward with criminal charges. Paramedics treated her at the scene for visible scratches and abrasions around her neck from the assault.
Mora now faces charges of carjacking and battery, according to the sheriff’s office.
