EPD: Child watched man attack mother with hammer

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - A 51-year-old Evansville man is being held in jail without bond after police say he assaulted a woman with a deadly weapon.

Officers say they learned about the attack, which happened on Tuesday, while on a separate run involving the victim.

According to an affidavit, the victim told officers that Maurice J. Watson came over to smoke synthetic cannabinoids together. She claims that at one point, Watson struck her in the head while in the kitchen.

The victim says she doesn’t remember much after that and believed she had gone unconscious.

Police say they also spoke with the victim’s child, who told officers he was there during the alleged attack.

The child said that Watson looked at him and smiled while his mother was in the kitchen.

The child told officers he watched as Watson turned towards a hammer laying on the stove, picked it up and stared laughing.

The police report states that Watson then swung the hammer at the victim.

Maurice James Watson was arrested and booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail and is charged with Domestic Battery - Deadly Weapon.

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