Crime & Safety

Boiling Water Poured Onto Gay Couple

An online fundraising page has been set up to help with one of the victim's medical expenses.

ATLANTA, GA -- An Atlanta man is in jail on aggravated battery charges that he poured boiling water onto a gay couple in their College Park apartment.

Martin Blackwell, 48, told police that he poured "just a little hot water" on the couple as they lay in bed, reports WSB-TV. One of the men was Anthony Gooden, the son of Blackwell's girlfriend who shared the apartment with his mother. He was released from the hospital last Friday.

Marquez Tolbert, 21, one of the victims, spent 10 days in the hospital and had to undergo skin grafts after suffering second- and third-degree burns on his back and neck.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Tolbert's medical expenses.

Blackwell told police he was disgusted with the men’s relationship. The incident happened last month.

Authorities are deciding whether to file federal hate crime charges in the case.

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