The mother of one of the gay Atlanta men scalded with boiling water while they were sleeping said their attacker would have to answer to a higher authority for his actions that left them severely burned.
The case has drawn national attention to the alleged actions of Martin Blackwell, accused of pouring boiling water on Anthony Gooden Jr. and Marquez Tolbert as they lay in bed in the College Park apartment that Gooden shares with his mother, Kim Foster.
Blackwell was Foster’s boyfriend and she told Channel 2 Actions News that he expressed disapproval of the gay couple’s relationship, but she never thought he would hurt her son.
“He’s not human,” Foster told Channel 2 Action News. “He got hatred in his heart and God’s gonna deal with him.”
Blackwell is charged with two counts of aggravated battery and has been held in the Fulton County jail since the February attack. The FBI's Atlanta office on Friday announced that they opened a hate-crime investigation in the case. Blackwell, 48, told College Park Police that "it was just a little hot water on them," according to the police report. He described his disgust at their gay relationship, the report said.
Gooden had started bringing his boyfriend around his family recently after coming out last year. Blackwell, who had been dating his mother for three years, expressed disapproval the night before the attack about the relationship, Foster said.
"I said, 'That's not your house. You need to mind your business.'," Foster told Channel 2. "(And he said,) 'Well, they laying up there.' I said, 'That is not your business. (Anthony) don't bother you. That boy don't bother you. This is not your house"."
Gooden has severe burns on his face, neck, back, chest and arms. He spent two weeks in a coma and was released from the hospital a week ago, according to Channel 2 Action News. Tolbert spent 10 days at Grady Memorial Hospital getting treated for second and third-degree burns.
Gooden told Channel 2 Action News it was the “the worst night of my life.”
“I just woke up screaming, ‘Ah, what’s going on?’ He just threw hot water. It hurt,” Gooden said.
Gooden is facing two years of recovery. His family has started a gofundme account to help pay his medical bills. So far, more than 1,700 people have donated more than $58,000 to help with his medical bills. Tolbert's family has also set up a gofundme account to pay his medical bills and it has raised more than $59,000 with donations from more than 1,900 people.
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