HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A Davie mother was nearly killed after almost being burned alive and stabbed by her son.
Seventeen-year-old James Monroe, a student at Hollywood Hills High School, is being held at a juvenile detention center after being charged with attempted murder.
Davie Police said he and his mother, Harolyn Monroe, were arguing about time with friends and social media, Tuesday morning.
According to an arrest report, investigators said the teen built what he called a “Molotov cocktail.”
“James then intentionally threw the destructive device into the ceiling, over his mother’s bed, causing it to explode and drop fire and glass on top of her,” the report stated.
“That burst into flames,” Davie Police Sgt. Mark Leone said. “He then went to get the baseball bat, which he had ready, and began to beat her with it.”
He’s also accused of intentionally stabbing her in the stomach with a butcher-style kitchen knife.
“Just a gruesome crime scene that they found when they got there,” Leone said.
Incredibly, Harolyn survived the attack and somehow managed to secretly dial 911 for help.
“Why do you feel that you needed to hit me with a bat and try to set me on fire?” She’s heard in the released 911 call.
“I don’t hear your son,” the 911 dispatcher said. “Where is your son?”
“Right next to me,” Harolyn responded.
The dispatcher then urged her to not let her son know that she’s speaking to police.
“Luckily, she was able to remain very calm, calm her son down and alert us,” Leone said.
The gruesome beating and stabbing left a disturbing scene inside the apartment.
“There was blood splatter all over the walls, the ceiling from where he was swinging his baseball bat, violently beating his mother,” Leone said.
Harolyn was rushed into surgery and is now recovering at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
“Her head was split open in multiple places, her finger was broken, her hand was sliced open and just taking this baseball bat abuse to her entire body and burns to her entire backside,” Leone said.
Police said James confessed to the crime.
“Detectives tell me that he was very calm,” Leone said. “He did not seem remorseful, and he gave a full confession.”
Authorities have a few days to decide whether he will be charged for attempted murder as a juvenile or as an adult.
His mother is said to be in stable condition as of Thursday morning.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.