A Johnson City man accused of throwing hot grease at his 80-year-old mother and holding a knife to her throat last month is scheduled to go trial in July.
Police arrested Mark R. Hurst, 53, on May 29, two weeks after he was accused of assaulting Betty Street at their Chatham Drive residence.
About 9 p.m. May 15, police were called to 2900 Chatham, where Street reported that she had argued with her son over his clothing, specifically about her comment that his shirt was too short to cover his stomach.
According to a police report, Street told police Hurst became so angry that he threw a pan of hot grease and steak at her in the kitchen. She said she dodged most of the grease, but some hit her right hand. Police did not find burns.
Street told police her son then struck her face, breaking her glasses. Police saw scratches on her nose and confirmed that the glasses were broken.
Hurst also jumped on his mother as she sat on the living room couch, then twisted her right arm behind her. As he sat on her, he held a small kitchen knife to her throat and occasionally covered her mouth with his hand so long that she thought she was going to pass out, Street told police.
The struggle on the couch lasted the better part of an hour. Hurst told his mother he hated her and was going to kill her, she told police.
Hurst asked for the keys to her car. Street told him they were outside, and when he went to get them, she was able to lock him out, she told police.
Hurst already had left the Chatham Drive residence when police arrived, and police could not find him in a search of the area.
After obtaining a warrant for Hurst's arrest, police received a call from Woodridge Hospital indicating he was about to be released on May 29. Charged with aggravated domestic assault and vandalism under $500.
He was arraigned in Sessions Court May 30 and returned for a hearing Wednesday. A trial date was set for July 16. He was released without bond.