Woman receives injuries from baseball bat

GOOSE CREEK — An altercation between two women over an ex-boyfriend resulted in one woman being beaten with a baseball bat. The incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday at Goose Creek. 

St. Francois County deputies and an EMS crew were dispatched to the beach at Goose Creek. When Deputy Matt Acord arrived on the scene, he saw the victim, covered in blood, receiving treatment from EMS. Goose Creek security told Acord who the suspects were in the altercation.

The deputy said the female suspect, a 23-year-old Imperial woman, was using a beach towel to wipe blood from a wooden bat when he found her. He said the suspect refused to answer any of his questions and said she didn’t hit anyone with the bat. 

Acord said the female suspect had problems standing up and appeared to be intoxicated. The suspect was placed in handcuffs because there were multiple intoxicated subjects and it was a “deteriorating situation.”

Acord then met with a witness, who was a friend of the victim. She said the victim asked the suspect if she was “mouthing her.” 

The two women started to argue and the suspect stated, “If you cross this fence I’m hitting you.” The witness said the victim crossed the fence and the suspect hit her three times in the head with the bat. The witness said multiple people then began assaulting the victim. The witness said she and others pulled the other people off of the victim. 

The witness said she saw a male suspect, a 27-year-old Imperial man, pull out a knife and start threatening people. The witness said she didn’t see the male suspect use the knife on anyone. She said when EMS pulled up, the suspect put the knife away.

Acord talked with another witness who gave a similar statement. She said the male suspect pulled the knife on the victim and her boyfriend. She also said the male suspect struck the victim while she was on the ground.

The victim’s boyfriend said the male suspect pulled a knife and came at him with it. He said during the scuffle he was cut on the palm near his thumb. The boyfriend said he took the male suspect to the ground and got away from him. The boyfriend refused treatment by EMS for the injury to his palm.

Acord then interviewed the male suspect, who was covered in blood. The deputy asked where the knife was. The suspect said he didn’t have a knife and that he didn’t do anything. Acord said multiple witnesses said he threatened them with a knife and that he struck the female victim. Acord said the suspect answered back with an expletive laced response. The deputy placed the suspect in handcuffs.

The deputy briefly interviewed the female victim who said the initial argument was over the victim’s ex-boyfriend. The victim said the suspect started the fight because she didn’t like her because of the prior relationship.

Other witnesses told the deputy the male suspect had put the knife down on a picnic table near the incident. They also said he told the victim and her boyfriend that he was going to, “Gut them like a fish.”

The female victim was flown to St. John’s Mercy Center for treatment. Her medical condition was unknown as of press time. Both suspects were taken to the St. Francois County Jail. The female suspect was released on a $5,000 bond while the male suspect was released on a $50,000 bail. Both are facing possible first degree assault charges.

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.