DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida teen will be tried as an adult on charges that he beat his mother with a baseball bat and lit her on fire with a Molotov cocktail because she scolded him about sneaking out of the house and using social media.
James Edward Monroe faces charges including attempted murder and arson for the Jan. 22 attack.
Authorities say Monroe filled a bottle with alcohol, capped it with a rag and threw it into his mother’s bedroom. The Sun Sentinel reports the bottle burst, causing glass and fire to fall on her. Leone said the 17-year-old then beat her.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes said Monroe doesn’t have a criminal record and has a high GPA in school.
His mother was treated for burns and underwent emergency surgery.
Police: Florida teen attacks mother with fire, baseball bat
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a Florida teen set his mother on fire with a Molotov cocktail and beat her with a baseball bat after she scolded him about sneaking out at night and using social media.
The Sun Sentinel reports that the woman was treated for severe burns following the Tuesday morning attack at a Davie home. She remained hospitalized Thursday in stable condition.
Police say the 17-year-old boy filled a glass bottle with alcohol, capped it with a rag and threw it into his sleeping mother’s bedroom. The woman managed to get outside and call 911. The teen later told investigators he just wanted to hurt his mother, not kill her.
Prosecutors haven’t said whether the teen will be charged as a juvenile or an adult.
A public defender says the teen has good grades and no criminal record.
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Information from: Sun Sentinel , http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
