A 19-year-old Knoxville man is facing multiple charges after allegedly attacking a man with a plunger, pouring bleach on him, and abducting his 3-year-old daughter, according to police.
Charles Coffman has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, theft, and tampering with evidence, per warrants obtained by NBC affiliate WBIR.
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Police responded to a Knoxville residence around 8:45 a.m. on Sunday after receiving a call expressing concern that Coffman had killed a man and taken his young daughter. Officers forced their way into the home and discovered a naked man in the bathroom with a severe head injury and a strong odor of bleach in the room.
Sevierville police later found Coffman, a woman, and the child in the victim’s car.
According to the warrants, Coffman told police his mother had called him from jail, instructing him to retrieve the child. He claimed an Uber brought him and the woman to the home, where he got into a fight with the victim.
Coffman admitted to dragging the man into the bathroom, stripping him, striking him with a plunger, shoving the plunger into the man’s mouth, and pouring bleach on his injuries. He also confessed to taking the man’s car, claiming his mother had given him permission.
Police said Coffman wrote an apology letter to the victim when asked.
However, Coffman’s mother denied contacting him or authorizing him to take the child or the car.
Coffman was booked into Knox County Jail. As of Tuesday afternoon, no bond had been set.
