A man allegedly poured boiling water on two gay men, one of whom is his girlfriend’s son, as they lay in bed in their College Park apartment, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Martin Blackwell, 48, is in the Fulton County jail on two counts of aggravated battery, online records show.

According to a police report obtained by Channel 2, the suspect told authorities that “it was just a little hot water on them.” He described disgust with the men’s relationship in the police report.

The attack happened at an apartment on Buffington Road in February. The mother of one of the victims, Anthony Gooden, shared the apartment with her son, Channel 2 reported.

One of the victims, Marquez Tolbert, spent 10 days at Grady Memorial Hospital undergoing surgery, which took skin from his thigh to replace skin on his back. Gooden got out of a hospital Friday.

Federal hate crime charges are possible in this case, and the Atlanta police LGBT liaison assisted to be sure that Blackwell did not make bond, Channel 2 reported.

“The pain doesn’t let you sleep,” Tolbert told Channel 2. “It’s just like it’s excruciating 24 hours a day.”

About the Author

Keep Reading

Marando Salmon, 37, was shot and killed by DeKalb County police on Nov. 4, 2022.  (Courtesy of DeKalb County District Attorney's Office)

Credit: Provided by DeKalb County District Attorney's Office

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT