VERO BEACH, Fla. — A Vero Beach man was arrested over the weekend after viciously beating his mother with a skateboard and a frying pan at a home, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said.
The incident occurred at around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at a residence on the 4000 block of 25th Avenue in Vero Beach. Deputies said when they arrived, they found a woman unconscious on the ground, lying in a pool of blood.
According to an arrest affidavit, witnesses said Stacy Leon Cash Jr., 34, beat his 52-year-old mother with his fists and then a frying pan and a skateboard.
Cassandra Jones, a long-time neighbor, said she will likely never forget what she saw.
"I saw him beating her in the head with his fist," she said. "He was hitting her like he ain't know who she was."
The affidavit said the incident began when Cash's mother tried to stop Cash from attacking another man, who was inside the home, with a frying pan.
Cash dragged his mother out of the home and into the garage area, while beating her. He then struck her in the head with the skateboard and yelled he was going to "kill her," the affidavit said.
"He had really beaten his mother badly out in front of the residence and inside the residence," said Sheriff Eric Flowers. "He had actually used a skateboard and a large cooking pot to beat her all over her head."
A neighbor who heard the commotion came outside and saw Cash hitting his mother with a frying pan and skateboard, while yelling “she deserves this," according to the affidavit.
"He was saying things like she deserves this; it's been a long time coming," said Flowers, who said they found the pan and skateboard, both with fresh blood. "I think his goal was to kill her. We just interrupted him, fortunately, before he could do that."
When they approached the scene, deputies said they saw Cash running from the home, and with the help of a neighbor, he was arrested moments later.
Cash's mom was rushed to the hospital and has been in the intensive care unit for the past three days, according to Flowers.
Deputies asked Cash what led up to the attack, and they said he had no response.
Neighbors like Jones are struggling with it all.
"It was horrifying to me," she said. "I had never seen nobody viciously beating nobody like that, especially their mom. I wanted to help her, but he would have been beating me too."
Cash faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery and kidnapping.
He is being held on $1.5 million bond.
