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Police: Homeless Man Beats Woman In Head With Bat, Causes Brain Bleeding

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – A homeless man beat a woman in the head with a baseball bat, causing brain bleeding, police say. Lawrence Peterson, 48, of Fayettevi...
Lawrence Peterson

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – A homeless man beat a woman in the head with a baseball bat, causing brain bleeding, police say.

Lawrence Peterson, 48, of Fayetteville was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Monday (April 6) at 11:40 p.m. and faces charges of first-degree battery and parole violation, according to jail records.

On Monday at 6 p.m., police were sent to South Hollywood Avenue in response to a man who struck a woman in the head with a bat, authorities said. The suspect, identified as Peterson, was not wearing a shirt and had blood on his chest, according to an arrest report.

Peterson was sitting in front of a tent when officers arrived, according to police. Authorities said a heavy odor of intoxicants could be smelled coming from Peterson.

The victim was bleeding “heavily” from her skull and laying next to a tree holding a white cloth to her head, the report states. She told police Peterson struck her in the head with a bat, authorities said.

The report states she was then treated by EMS.

A witness told police he and the victim were walking to a nearby tent when Peterson attacked with a bat, hitting the victim, authorities said. The witness called 911 and then attempted to stop Peterson, police said.

Peterson swung at the witness, striking him in the chest, the report states. After that, the witness grabbed the bat and threw Peterson to the ground. The battery suspect got up and then grabbed a stick, police said.

The witness took the stick from Peterson and told him to go back to his tent, according to the report.

Police found a bloody baseball bat in some nearby bushes, and the witness confirmed it was the one Peterson hit the victim with, authorities said.

The report states Peterson asked officers if the victim was dead, and they told him she was not. According to police, Peterson then said he wished she was dead.

An officer followed up with the victim who was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center, and her doctor said she had bleeding of the brain. The doctor also said the strike from the bat could have easily killed the victim, police said.

No bond has been set for Peterson, and his first hearing is scheduled for April 8 at 7:45 a.m., according to jail records.

The suspect’s criminal history includes sexual offense against a child (in 1989), first-degree battery (in 1998) and second-degree forgery (in 2014), authorities said.

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