Background: The home in Knoxville, Tenn., where the alleged victim was found (Google Maps). Inset: Charles Coffman (Knox County Sheriff’s Office).
A Tennessee teenager is in jail after police said he beat a man with a plunger, then fled with the victim’s toddler.
Nineteen-year-old Charles Coffman is currently held at the Knox County Jail, facing charges that include attempted second-degree murder, evidence tampering, aggravated kidnapping, and theft. NBC affiliate WBIR reported that police were called to perform a welfare check at a Knoxville residence around 8:45 a.m. on Sunday. The caller expressed concerns that the man inside might be deceased and that his 3-year-old daughter may have been abducted.
The police report indicated that officers forced entry into the home, discovering the homeowner in the bathroom, unclothed and with a critical head wound. The house had a strong bleach odor, and the young child was missing.
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As detailed by CBS affiliate WVLT, the victim’s Ford Expedition was also not at the scene. After issuing a notice about the missing vehicle, law enforcement quickly located it, accompanied by Coffman, a woman whose identity was not disclosed, and the abducted child.
In their report, police said Coffman allegedly told them that his mother had called him from jail and instructed him to get the child from the home on Mercer Street. Police said that Coffman’s mother and the alleged victim were the legal guardians of the child.
Coffman reportedly said that he and the woman took an Uber to the home, where he got into a physical altercation with the man who lived there.
Coffman reportedly told police that 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.” He also reportedly admitted to “dragging the victim into the bathroom, stripping him naked, and pouring bleach on the victim’s wounds,” according to the report.
According to the police report, Coffman also admitted to stealing the alleged victim’s vehicle, but said that he had permission from the child’s mother to take it.
Police reportedly spoke to Coffman’s mother, who told them that she had not spoken to Coffman. She also allegedly stated that she “did not and would not” have allowed him to take custody of the child or permit him to steal the alleged victim’s car.
The report included statements from the unnamed woman who reportedly accompanied Coffman to the alleged victim’s home. She told police that she walked inside the house to find the man on the floor. Coffman then reportedly handed her the child and the three left in the Ford Expedition.
She reportedly told police that she overheard a conversation Coffman was having on the phone, during which time he mentioned the alleged fight and “didn’t know if the victim was alive or dead.”
The alleged victim was taken to a nearby hospital. He was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and other serious injuries, according to the report. Police were unable to speak to him.
Coffman was booked into the Knox County Jail on Monday. His bond hearing was set for Friday.
