Man calls 911 to report his grandson beat him, left him inside burning house
A jailed suspect faces an attempted murder charge after his grandfather called 911 Tuesday to report he had been beaten by his 29-year-old grandson who then set fire to his home and left him inside.
The 72-year-old victim was able to get out of the house and call for help.
When Sgt. Bennett Dillon from the sheriff's department arrived at the scene in the 8900 block of South Ketcham Road, he found the man outside the house lying against a tree stump.
He had serious injuries to his head, face and neck, according to an account from Monroe County Sheriff's Office Lt. Troy Thomas, and was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment.
Victim suffers shattered bones, bleeding in brain
An emergency room doctor said the victim, Steven Webb, had shattered facial bones and bleeding in his brain, so he was transferred by medical helicopter to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Sheriff Brad Swain said Webb was in stable condition Wednesday.
Previous: St Patrick's Day police reports include stabbings, shots fired in city
According to a written report from Detective Andrew Rushing from the sheriff's department, Webb said his grandson, Justin Lee Hollingsworth, had gotten angry with him and they were arguing in the kitchen when Webb was struck in the face and head at least 10 times with a hard object.
Webb told police he had his back turned and was blindsided by the attack, knocked to the floor and unable to defend himself. He reported that Hollingsworth said, "I'm going to beat you to death with this stick," Rushing reported.
"Webb reported that when the beating finally ceased, he observed the suspect Hollingsworth emptying the contents of a red two-gallon gas can about the kitchen area," the detective's report said. "Webb told me he saw suspect Hollingsworth ignite the liquid, and flames began to spread."
The grandfather said after Hollingsworth left, he tried to extinguish the kitchen fire with the spray hose from the sink, to no avail. He then stumbled out of the burning house and collapsed in the front yard.
Dillon saw Hollingsworth walking in a nearby horse pasture and arrested him. The jail listed his address as 9339 S. Lake Ridge Drive, but his grandfather told police Hollingsworth often stays with him.
Suspect faces attempted murder, assault, arson charges
Hollingsworth was taken into custody at 6:14 p.m. and faces preliminary charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and arson. Court records show he also was wanted on a warrant for a 2019 methamphetamine charge.
Rushing's report says Hollingsworth initially claimed he and his grandfather were attacked by an unknown man who entered the residence, but refused to provide details and asked for a lawyer, which ended the interrogation.
More: Communication boards help nonverbal people 'talk' with police, emergency responders
Monroe Fire Protection District firefighters searched the residence after extinguishing the fire and located six places where fires had been ignited, and also a melted red 2-gallon gas can. A detective who collected Webb's clothes at the hospital for evidence said they were blood-soaked and smelled of gasoline.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County man faces attempted murder and arson charges
