By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

RICHWOOD - A 27-year-old woman remained at University Hospital in Cincinnati Monday after she was found severely beaten at a Boone County motel, according to a sheriff's deputy.

Stacy Beals was discovered just before noon Sunday at the Econo Lodge adjacent to Interstate 71/75. Deputies said Beals lives in Carrollton, but property tax records show she owns a home in eastern Louisville, and her parents live in Carrollton.

No one had been arrested as of Monday night.

Beals appeared to be alone when she checked into the room, but her car was found in Carrollton, said Boone County Sheriff's Department spokesman Tom Scheben. He said detectives were trying to determine why she was at the motel and how she got there.

Messages left with Beals' parents in Carrollton were not returned.

Scheben said detectives are treating the case as an attempted murder because of the severity of Beals' injuries. He would not describe the injuries or the condition of the motel room.

A spokesman at the hospital wouldn't confirm Beals was a patient, and her condition was not disclosed Monday. Deputies said she was flown by helicopter to the hospital on Sunday.

A manager at the Econo Lodge on Monday declined to comment on the assault. Beals checked into a room on the second floor of the motel at 11165 Frontage Road. Her room overlooked a parking lot and another motel.

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E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com