INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 59-year-old man was jailed Monday after deputies said he beat and stabbed his wife during a heated argument outside his home, leaving her seriously injured.
The woman was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, reports show. Doctors said the woman suffered brain bleeding and a broken right thumb.
It was unclear if the woman had been released from the hospital.
James Louis Nelson, of the 2400 block of 8th Avenue, Vero Beach, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, felony hinder communication to 911 and false imprisonment. Nelson was held Thursday at the Indian River County Jail on $100,000 bond.
James Louis Nelson
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Indian River County sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance about 10 p.m. Monday at Nelson’s residence. The 911 caller told dispatchers she heard a woman – Nelson’s wife – behind the home screaming that she couldn’t breathe, reports show.
Deputies saw Nelson and his wife with blood on their faces, arms and clothing. Both had several cuts to their faces, reports show.
Deputies said the woman had a bruised eye that was closed shut and a bloodied stab wound to her elbow.
Nelson told deputies he never touched his spouse, reports show. The woman said Nelson got angry and punched her in the face repeatedly during the struggle, reports show.
The woman tried to leave the home, but Nelson blocked the exits by overpowering her, reports show. When the woman tried to use her cell phone to dial 911, Nelson snatched the phone from her, deputies said.
Deputies arrested Nelson and booked him into the county jail. Nelson has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. March 25, court records show.