Police say man tried to suffocate his mother
Winter Park resident attacked the woman after an argument
A Winter Park man is facing attempted murder and other charges after police say he tried to kill his mother.
Authorities say Robert Chester Courtney, 31, was suffocating his mother inside their home in August before police intervened. The victim told officers Courtney attacked her during a druginduced paranoia and threatened to kill her and himself.
On Aug. 3, a neighbor called police to report screaming coming from Courtney’s residence. The caller told dispatchers she had seen a man beating a woman outside of the home a few days before.
Winter Park police officers responded and immediately heard a woman calling for help. An officer walked through the front door and saw Courtney standing behind a desk in the living room, according to an arrest affidavit.
Courtney initially complied with officers’ demands to show his hands, police said, then grabbed a bottle of alcohol on the desk and took a swig before putting it down. Then he reached behind his back, toward his waistband, police said.
Officers were eventually able to restrain him after unsuccessfully trying to tase him, according to court documents.
While officers were dealing with Courtney, his mother walked into the street, crying hysterically, police said.
“He’s crazy,” she said. “He tried to kill me.”
The woman told officers that she and Courtney got into an argument and she asked her son to leave. When she tried leaving the house, he grabbed her and dragged her to the bedroom. He threw her on the bed and held her down, saying he was going to kill her and himself, officials said.
The woman told police that she was afraid Courtney was going to strangle her. He’d done so in the past, she said. Authorities say Courtney placed his hand over her nose and mouth.
Courtney told his mother to say her prayers and that she was going to hell, she told police. The woman tried to escape, but he dragged her back into the home, officials said. Courtney told his mother to count back from 30, saying she would be dead when she was finished counting, police said.
That’s when Courtney heard a knock on the door, according to court documents. The woman escaped as officers went into the home.
Courtney faces several charges, including aggravated battery, attempted homicide and kidnapping.
He’s being held in the Orange County Jail. Orlando Sentinel