A 70-year-old man is accused of stabbing a woman in the head with a small knife at a motel where the two were staying, leaving her with lacerations that required staples before he allegedly fled the scene. Vernon Gregory Tillman was arrested Sunday on a charge of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, and a judge has since ordered him held without bond.
According to WSVN, the attack happened around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. An arrest report cited by the station states that Tillman became upset with the woman after she took a shower because, as the report puts it, “she was not doing as he was asking.”
Investigators said Tillman then produced a small knife and began stabbing the woman in the head, according to the arrest report. She suffered what the report describes as various lacerations that required staples to close, per the same account.
Suspect Fled Before Being Found at Home
After the attack, Tillman fled the area, the arrest report states. Authorities later located him at his residence, where he was taken into custody, the report indicates.
Investigators said the woman was able to identify Tillman through a photograph. He was booked on the aggravated battery charge and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, the station's report notes.
Judge Orders No-Bond Hold on Two Cases
A judge found probable cause for the aggravated battery charge and ordered Tillman held without bond, citing the nature of the charge as grounds for the no-bond hold, per the report. The order applies both to this new case and to a separate case for which Tillman was already on probation, the station reports.
Under Florida law, aggravated battery covers conduct that intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement during a battery, or involves the use of a deadly weapon, according to Florida Statute 784.045.
