The mother of a gay man who suffered second and third degree burns after being doused with boiling water while he slept is speaking out about the attack.
A few days ago we shared the horrific story of Marquez Tolbert, who was napping with his boyfriend Andrew Gooden when 48-year-old Martin Blackwell poured boiling water on the pair. Blackwell is Gooden’s mother’s boyfriend who lived in the same apartment, and he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of battery.
Gooden was hospitalized, and he finds it hard to look in the mirror due to the facial scars he suffered from the attack. Speaking to WSBTV2 Atlanta, Gooden’s mother Kim Foster calls it the “worst night” of her life, and shared a conversation that she had with Blackwell about the relationship between Gooden and Tolbert the night before the attack:
“I said, ‘That’s not your house. You need to mind your business.’ (And he said,) ‘Well, they laying up there.’ I said, ‘That is not your business. (Anthony) don’t bother you. That boy don’t bother you. This is not your house.’”
As for Gooden, he’s trying to remain strong and recover:
How about we take this to the next level?
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“Yeah I hate looking in the mirror. But it’s healing. It’s healing everyday now. Sometimes when I think about (it), I get angry. But I also know how to pray and ask God to release that anger and bring me happiness.”
The FBI is looking into bringing federal hate crime charges against Blackwell. Click here to visit the GoFundMe page for Anthony Gooden, and here to visit the GoFundMe page for Marquez Tolbert.
Watch the news report below via WSBTV2 Atlanta, and be forewarned – it is disturbing.We wish both of these young men a healthy recovery.
Justin Weeks
That man needs to be killed and I think the mother should face charges to for letting it happen if you knew that man was that crazy and you still dating him somethings wrong with you as a woman and a mother soon as he said one bad thing about your child he should have been dumped and out that damn house.
Stache
They’ll never be alright you hateful POS. They’ll have mental and physical scars the rest of their lives.
Mack
@Justin Weeks: Unless I missed something the mother told him to leave them alone. With what reasoning should she be charged?
Kangol
I’ve donated to their health care fund and am praying a complete and smooth recovery for both of these young men.
It’s just sickening and heartbreaking to think that there are so many people so full of hate and fear and self-loathing that they would do such a thing to others, that they cannot see beyond their hate to the others’ humanity, but the attempted murderer hear is going to rue the day he harmed these two young men. I hope he gets charged on multiple accounts, including the hate crime statute, and that he rots in prison.
I hope the mother here realizes she needs to cut loose anyone who is so full of rage and craziness that he’d try to kill her son, but it’s also good to learn that she warned him to leave them alone.
Bob LaBlah
He did this to that kid because he thinks the kid is the type that won’t retaliate. Once the kid gets well I do hope he proves him wrong. Metallic baseball bats are the next best thing to a gun when used against the side of the head, though a well place brick can be just as good.
GC1985
@Bob LaBlah: Awesome. So he can wind up in jail too. Wonderful logic coming from a Trump supporter. We have a justice system for a reason
missedgle
@Kangol: As a Parent she failed miserable this happens alot
in the black community. I could write a theism about homosexuality in the black community and about black men it goes way deep but I also plan to donate. In the words of Dr.Maya Anglou “when you know better,you’ll do better.”
Bob LaBlah
@GC1985: Speaking of OUR justice system honey tell us how many times have you………………
Tackle
@missedgle: And as a human, you failed miserably. This happens a lot with b!gots.
Matthew Shepard
Harvey Milk
Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon
Lawrence King
Barry Winchell
Were all murdered, and their killers were not Black…