A South Carolina woman is accused of stabbing her husband with a ceramic squirrel for not bringing home beer from the store early Christmas morning. Oddly, that decorative animal is not the most bizarre household item to be used in a fit of anger between husbands and wives, or boyfriends and girlfriends. Here are seven more mundane objects that became weapons in domestic disputes.
A ceramic gingerbread house
The week before Christmas, Brooke Jean Lord of Middletown, Conn., found out her husband was cheating on her. During the ensuing argument, witnesses reported seeing Lord hit her husband on the back of the head with a gingerbread house. The husband later claimed she hit him with their car, though the 23-year-old wife admitted to only throwing the Christmas decoration. Lord was charged with second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, and breach of peace.
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A pet cat
In October, Kenneth Stuart was arguing with his girlfriend in their Davie, Fla., home before he entered the bedroom where his girlfriend was lying, according to the arrest report. He was holding an indistinguishable object in his hand and yelling at her, "Look it's going to die. It's got no air." The object was his girlfriend's cat, which he then hurled at her face, scratching it. The 41-year-old was charged with battery, resisting arrest, and tormenting an animal.
A sandwich
In October 2012, Larry Spurling of Melbeta, Neb., got into an argument with his wife. According to Mrs. Spurling's 911 call, the 50-year-old husband pushed his wife down and rubbed a sandwich in her face. The ingredients of the sandwich were not detailed in the police report, but a deputy reportedly found several pieces of lunch meat on the carpet outside a bedroom and shreds of bread within. Spurling was charged with disturbing the peace.
A bag of ice cream
In July 2012, Dawn Elaine Barran was shopping in a Walgreens in Port St. Lucie, Fla., when she spotted her husband — and his girlfriend. As the pair paid for a bag of ice cream at the register, Barran approached, grabbed the bag, and began hitting her husband over the head with the frozen treats. The 45-year-old nurse then chased the couple as they tried to flee the store. Barran was reportedly arrested later that day at her home on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.
Cupcakes
Dawn and Arturo Montesdeoca have what you might call a volatile relationship. Police had been called to their Chicago home on three previous occasions, arresting Arturo on battery charges. But in October 2011, it was Dawn who was accused of being the attacker. The fight reportedly started with words, but soon Dawn was hitting her husband over the head. She then allegedly reached for a box of cupcakes and began hurling the palm-sized confections at her husband's head and body. Indeed, when police arrived, Arturo was smudged with frosting. Dawn was arrested and charged with domestic battery and had to submit to electronic monitoring.
A potted basil plant
In August 2011, Andrea Antoine-Pierre returned to her home in (you guessed it) Port St. Lucie, Fla., to find her husband cooking dinner. But when their initial chatter turned into a heated argument about what kind of meat should be prepared, Andrea's husband got fed up and left the kitchen. That was when his 52-year-old wife reportedly chucked a potted basil plant at her husband's back, hitting his left shoulder. Andrea later told police that she did indeed throw the plant, but at the ground not at her husband. When officials pressed the woman to explain how dirt got on her husband's back, she said, "It must have bounced off the ground." Andrea was jailed on battery charges.
Frozen lasagna
In 2008, when Amanda Trott and her husband's argument elevated to a screaming match, concerned neighbors called the police. Officers arrived at the couple's Atlantic Beach, Fla., home to find a slightly bruised Mr. Trott, an angry Mrs. Trott, and a frozen lasagna. The husband claimed that his wife slapped him across the face and then chucked the iced entree at him, nailing him in the head. Police arrested Mrs. Trott on charges of domestic battery.
