Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Knoxville man is facing a slew of charges after police say he beat a man, stripped him naked, covered him in bleach, then kidnapped the man’s child.
According to charging documents, 19-year-old Charles Coffman is charged with aggravated kidnapping, attempted second degree murder, tampering with evidence and theft in connection to Sunday’s incident at 1200 Mercer Street.
A detective conducting a wellness check reportedly found the victim in the bathroom, naked and with serious head injuries and determined that a 3-year-old child and a Ford Expedition were both gone.
Both Coffman and the child were later found inside the car in Sevierville.
Charging documents indicate that when police interviewed Coffman, he told them he had been asked by the child’s mother to take an Uber to the home and pick her up.
“Once there, [Coffman said] he got into a physical fight with the victim,” the report said. “[Coffman said] he slammed the victim into the ground, struck him in the face multiple times with his fists, struck [the victim] with a toilet plunger and stuffed this plunger into the victim’s mouth. [Coffman] also admitted to dragging the victim into the bathroom, stripping him naked, and pouring bleach on the victim’s wounds.”
Police also got ahold of the child’s mother, who said she had never spoken to Coffman, the report said. Police said she told them she’d never allow Coffman to take custody of the child.
The man Coffman was accused of beating was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
