A New Mexico man is accused of dousing his disabled mother with kerosene and trying to set her on fire Monday after she “looked at him like he was stupid,” authorities said.
Johnny V. Jimenez, 27, of Las Cruces, is charged with a felony count of attempted aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon and interference with communication, according to the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department. He is being held without bond in the county jail.
Jimenez told county detectives he became angry when his mother looked at him in an insulting way. The victim, however, told investigators that her son got mad when she asked him to help cook dinner.
It was her 63rd birthday, Sheriff's Department officials said.
Jimenez's mother told detectives her son slammed her head into the washing machine, making her fall out of her wheelchair, authorities said. She said he then poured the kerosene on her and tried multiple times to ignite the fuel, but the lighter he was using failed.
She told investigators her son took her cellphone so she could not call for help and left her on the floor for several hours.
The woman was found by her daughter, who stopped by the house to give her mother a birthday card. The daughter confronted her brother and called 911.
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