A teenager is facing an array of charges after allegedly beating a man with a toilet plunger and pouring bleach over his wounds, before kidnapping his three-year-old child.
Charles Coffman, 19, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, attempted second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and theft after an incident on Sunday, June 22.
Highlights
- Charles Coffman, 19, allegedly beat a man with a toilet plunger and poured bleach on his wounds during a violent home invasion in Knoxville.
- After the attack, Coffman allegedly kidnapped the victim's three-year-old child and stole his Ford Expedition to escape the scene.
- Police found the victim naked with serious head injuries in the bathroom and launched a BOLO to locate Coffman and the missing child.
Coffman is alleged to have entered a man's home in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the early hours of Sunday morning and gotten into a physical altercation with him, a police report obtained by WVLT says.
Charles Coffman allegedly beat a man with a toilet plunger and poured bleach on him
Image credits: Knox County Sheriff
During the fight, Coffman reportedly threw the man to the ground and struck him multiple times, including hitting him with a toilet plunger.
Coffman is accused of forcing the toilet plunger into the man’s mouth and dragging him to the bathroom.
There, he allegedly stripped the victim naked and poured bleach over his wounds.
After the attack, Coffman allegedly kidnapped the man’s three-year-old child and stole his Ford Expedition to flee the home.
Police were called to a concern for welfare report at the property and discovered the victim in the bathroom with serious head injuries.
Image credits: Sevierville Police Department
They also noted his car and child were missing.
“Entry was forced into the residence and the victim was found in the bathroom, naked, and with serious head injuries,” a police report said.
Officers from the Sevierville Police Department put out a BOLO to trace the car, which was found nearby with Coffman and the child inside.
When officers apprehended Coffman, he told them the child’s mother had asked him to collect the girl, who was taken to hospital for observation.
“Once there, [Coffman said] he got into a physical fight with the victim,” the police report said.
Image credits: Photo by Matthew Ansley on Unsplash
“[Coffman said] he slammed the victim into the ground, struck him in the face multiple times with his fists, struck [the victim] with a toilet plunger and stuffed this plunger into the victim’s mouth.
“[Coffman] also admitted to dragging the victim into the bathroom, stripping him naked, and pouring bleach on the victim’s wounds.”
When police contacted the child’s mother, she denied speaking to Coffman and said she “did not and would not” allow Coffman to take custody of her daughter or have the car.
According to TooFab, there was also another woman inside the vehicle with Coffman when officers found him.
She reportedly told police she heard Coffman on the phone telling someone he “didn't know if the victim was alive or dead.”
The victim was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment of his injuries, and Coffman has a bail hearing on Friday, June 27.