To: Sector Investor who wrote (31975 ) 1/23/1998 11:38:00 PM From: Glenn D. Rudolph Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 61433
Teen accused of attacking mother with sledgehammer11.23 p.m. ET (420 GMT) January 23, 1998ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A teen-age boy came up behind his mother as she sat on their living room couch Friday afternoon and struck her in the back of the head with a 5-pound sledgehammer, state police said. Mark David States, 17, then walked to a neighbor's home and announced what he had done, according to his arrest warrant. States was charged as an adult with attempted homicide and aggravated assault and jailed on 50,000 bail. His mother, Michelle States, 37, was in serious condition Friday night. Jim Jackson, another neighbor, found Mrs. States on his doorstep drenched in blood. "I didn't even know who it was at first, because she was covered head to toe with blood,'' he told The Morning News for Saturday's editions. Mrs. States had defensive wounds to her hands, indicating she tried to protect herself, Trooper Dana Anderson said. "At this point, we're still looking into why she was attacked,'' Anderson said. "It seems that this was unprovoked or that the provocation was minimal if there was any.'' States told police he did not remember striking his mother, but recalled seeing her "bleeding on their couch, that a sledgehammer was in his hand ... that no one else was at home and the door to their residence was locked.'' Anderson said States dropped out of high school and does not have a job. "My understanding is that there had been ongoing family problems, some domestic-type problems, and the state police have been to the residence before,'' Anderson said. Jackson said the States family has a history of trouble with their son. "The situation with Mark has been a bomb ready to go off for a long time,'' he said.