In Knoxville, Tennessee, 19-year-old Charles Coffman faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, theft, and tampering with evidence following a violent incident at a residence on Mercer Street. On Sunday morning, police responded to a welfare check after concerns were raised that Coffman may have murdered a man and kidnapped his 3-year-old daughter.

Upon entering the home, officers found a man in the bathroom, naked, with a severe head injury and a strong smell of bleach, but the child was missing, and the victim’s car had been stolen. Sevierville police later stopped the stolen car, finding Coffman, a woman, and the unharmed child, who was taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for evaluation.

The victim suffered a subdural hematoma and other serious injuries but could not be interviewed. Coffman admitted to police that he fought with the victim, slammed him to the ground, struck him multiple times, used a plunger to assault him, and poured bleach on his wounds after dragging him to the bathroom. He also confessed to taking the car, claiming his mother, who is in jail, gave him permission.

However, his mother denied this, stating she never authorized Coffman to take the child or the car, noting that she and the victim are the child’s guardians. The woman with Coffman reported seeing the victim on the floor and hearing Coffman say he thought he had killed him.

Coffman, who wrote an apology letter to the victim at police request, remains in Knox County Jail with no bond set as of Tuesday afternoon.