Daytona Beach man punches woman holding baby in face, charged with child abuse, police say
A Daytona Beach felon who did prison time for aggravated assault with a weapon attacked the mother of his child at Halifax Health Medical Center early Friday and damaged a hospital door as he tried to escape, police said.
Timothy Theophilus Golphin, 28, punched the woman twice in the face as she was holding a baby, knocking her down to the floor; he was charged with child abuse. Golphin was also charged with battery causing bodily harm; criminal mischief of $1,000 or more; and obstructing an officer without violence.
He was being held Monday in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $16,000 bail.
Florida Department of Corrections records show Golphin did 2.5 years in prison for aggravated assault with a weapon and burglary of an occupied dwelling. He was released in June 2021.
On Friday, Daytona Beach police said the the victim went to the hospital with her daughter and notified Golphin's sister about her hospital visit. The sister called Golphin to let him know the victim was at the hospital with the child, according to an arrest report. The child's age was redacted from the report.
Golphin arrived at the hospital at 1:55 a.m., police said.
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Once at the hospital, Golphin asked to hold the child but he became irritated and restless. As a precaution, the mother asked for the child back, which then sparked an argument, police said.
During the confrontation, Golphin pulled out his phone and started recording, yelling "Look at what the (expletive) doing to me," police wrote in their report.
The woman left the room to get help but turned back after Golphin started searching her bag. As she got to the door, Golphin punched her twice in the face as she held on to the baby, police said.
In a security camera recording, police saw that when Golphin punched the victim a second time, she fell backward as she held the child, a report stated.
As nurses helped the woman, Golphin tried to break out through a pediatric ward door, damaging it, police said.
Golphin ran out of the hospital as police arrived on scene, and refused to stop. He ran through the Daytona State College campus but got tired and surrendered, police said.
Golphin declined to talk to police, the report stated.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man accused of beating woman in Daytona Beach pediatric unit
