Pamela Louise Ward
A 57-year-old Harrison woman is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge after the Sheriff's Office said she beat her boyfriend around the face and head with a hammer.
Pamela Louise Ward, of 9057 Hooper Hollow in Harrison, was arrested on Sunday.
Deputies responded to CHI Memorial on Hamill Road at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Sunday in reference to a delayed assault that occurred at Ms. Ward's home in Harrison.
Medical staff told the Sheriff's Office that a man had come into the hospital to receive treatment for injuries sustained as a result of being struck multiple times with a hammer.
Deputies went to the room in the ER where the victim was being treated and noticed he had a serious laceration to the left side of his face in the area of his upper lip.
There was a large amount of dark blood on and around his left ear.
The man said he and his girlfriend, Ms. Ward, had been in a disagreement because they had not gone camping for the weekend of Ms. Ward's birthday, which was Friday. He said she was also upset because she does not have a phone.
Due to their disagreement, he said Ms. Ward was sleeping on the couch in the home, while he was sleeping in the bedroom. He said at approximately 2:30 a.m., Ms. Ward entered the bedroom and lay down in the bed next to him. Shortly after that, he said she began to complain about a phone and them started to strike his phone with a hammer.
He said he attempted to grab the phone from her, but she then began striking him with the hammer multiple times about his head, face and body. He said he tried to grab the hammer, but she continued to strike him. He said he asked her, "Are you trying to kill me?" but he did not remember her response, or if she responded at all.
He said he struck her one or two times in the back of her head with a closed fist, in order to prevent her continuing to attack him.
He said Ms. Ward then left the residence on foot after exiting through the front door.
He described the hammer as yellow and black. He said he never regained possession of his phone after the incident.
He said after she left, he drove to his son's residence and arrived approximately 30-40 minutes after the incident. He said he knocked on his son's window and told him what had happened, and his son drove him to the hospital.
Deputies also observed mild abrasions on the man's upper left chest, near his clavicle, blood on his ankles, blood on his hands and lacerations on his left arm. Police also noticed apparent swelling on the right side on his forehead, and what appeared to be a small mark and outline near his left temple that appeared consistent with a hammer strike.
The victim complained of substantial pain in his mouth and teeth, and believed that some of his teeth had been knocked loose. Police observed injuries consistent with the man being struck by a blunt object.
Medical staff indicated the possibility of him sustaining fractures, but they were waiting on scans to confirm.
The victim's son told police that at approximately 3:14 a.m., he heard a knock on his window, and when he looked outside, he saw his father. He said he went to the side door of his home and, when he saw his father's injuries, he decided to take him to the hospital.
Deputies went to the home of the victim to talk with Ms. Ward. When they arrived at the door of the residence, they observed blood stains on the wooden stairs and the door and door handle. No one responded to knocks at the door, but deputies did find Ms. Ward asleep in a lawn chair behind a shed at the rear of the residence.
There was dried blood on her shirt. Deputies asked her what had happened and she said she was sleeping on the couch earlier and got up to go the bedroom and lay down beside the boyfriend. She said he began to punch her and she punched him back in self-defense. She told the deputies that the man had a history of abuse and they could look up his record to verify that.
She showed them a mark on her lip. Deputies looked at her hands and did not observe any broken skin. When asked about the hammer, she said the boyfriend was in possession of the hammer. Deputies found a hammer in the front yard with a wooden handle and a dark metal head. The hammer was covered in blood.
The investigation showed that Ms. Ward had intentionally struck the victim about the head and body with a hammer repeatedly, detectives said.
She was arrested and taken to the Hamilton County Jail.