Woman 'repeatedly hit stranger over the head with meat tenderizer' say cops

12 November 2023 , 15:45

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Faith Garrett, 56, reportedly shouted at the stranger before hitting him with the meat tenderizer (Image: Richmond County Police Department)

A woman has been charged with battery after she's said to have hit a stranger over the head repeatedly with a meat tenderizer as he sat in a car park.

56-year-old Faith Garrett, from Richmond, Indiana, was arrested and charged with one count of felony battery by means of a deadly weapon. She has since been released from Wayne County Jail.

It comes after she allegedly assaulted the man in the Richmond car park on November 4, resulting in the victim suffering multiple facial lacerations. Officers from the Richmond Police Department were called at around 10.50pm on Saturday to the car park for a reported assault.

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While police were making their way to the scene, they were told by 911 dispatchers that the caller was hit in the head with a hammer by an "unidentified male or female" wearing black trousers and a black windbreaker. When police got there, they came across a woman who matched the suspect's description and was wearing all black.

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The woman, later identified as Garrett, was patted down by officers. During the pat down, one officer reported feeling a hard, rounded object inside her jacket pocket.

"When I asked Faith what the object was, she removed a black m eat tenderizer with a chrome handle and handed it to me," an officer wrote in his report. "I asked Faith why she had a meal tenderizer in her pocket, and she stated 'to cook with'."

Garrett was charged with battery and taken to jail but has since been released (Richmond County Police Department)

Officers then went an spoke to the victim, who said he was walking to his car when he saw a person following him. He said he sat inside when he reached his car, but did not shut the door.

He recalled a woman, later identified as Garrett, approached his car and started "yelling incoherently" at him. He told her to go away, at which point he said Garrett took out a "black hammer" from her jacket and hit him over the head once.

He said he then stood up and got out of the car. Once out of the car, the victim said Garrett hit him in the head with the meat hammer around two or three more times in the same spot.

While they spoke to the victim, officers noted he had three or four small cuts on the left side of his head. The victim was offered medical attention by Richmond Fire crews but he denied the transport to hospital.

The woman allegedly used a meat tenderizer, or meat hammer, to attack the man (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The man reportedly identified Garrett, who was still standing by the cops, as the suspect in his attack. Court documents show: "The victim stated that he had never met Faith before and stated that the attack was unprovoked."

After being read her Miranda Rights, Garrett is said to have told officers she started yelling at the victim because she thought he was drunk. But she denied ever hitting the man with the meat tenderizer.

"During my interaction with Faith, I observed a strong smell of an alcoholic beverage coming from her person," wrote the arresting officer. "Additionally, Faith had blood shot glassy eyes, was unstable on her feet, and had slurred disorganised speech."

Garret was subsequently handcuffed, loaded into a squad car and taken to the Wayne County Jail. The meat tenderizer was taken into evidence.

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A member of staff at the Wayne County Jail confirmed Garrett had been released from custody on Monday, October 6. Online court records have not yet been updated with her initial hearing date.

Fiona Leishman