Beaufort man held in 2009 attack that severely injured bride's face

Said Perez, 31, was charged Thursday with assault and battery of an aggravated nature and first-degree burglary in the April 18, 2009, incident at the Beaufort Inn, according to a Beaufort Police Department news release. He is being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.

The 26-year-old bride reported she was attacked by an unknown male inside a cottage at the Inn on Port Republic Street around 2 a.m. that day.

Investigators determined the assailant entered the cottage through a back window.

She and her fiance were scheduled to be married the following day at Sea Island Presbyterian Church on Lady's Island.

The couple canceled their church ceremony and instead married in the backyard of the St. Helena Island home of the bride's parents after she was released from Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

The victim had to undergo corrective surgery to repair facial fractures.

The attacker's identity remained unknown until a DNA profile developed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division from evidence collected at the crime scene matched Perez in the Combined DNA Index System, the release said.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Beaufort man held in 2009 attack that severely injured bride's face."