Neighbors rescue injured teen after dad flies into fit of rage, Alabama cops say

A 14-year-old girl showed up at the door of her neighbor’s home bloodied and hurt, in need of help on Monday, Nov. 7, Alabama police said.

Deputies arrived a short time later at the trailer park on the outskirts of Russellville, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

It was easy to find the trouble the girl had fled.

Blood, shattered bottles, eviscerated electronics and household items littered the ground around the trailer, the release said. The source of all that destruction, her father, was inside.

Earlier, the girl had found a social media account belonging to him, which she suspected he was using to have an affair, she would tell investigators. She shared this with her mother, which sent her father into a violent rage.

He hit the girl with his bare fists first, the sheriff’s office said, then a shower curtain rod and a piece of wood. He shoved her, slapped her, threw things at her, then ordered her to clean up the damage.

She saw her chance to escape as she headed to the kitchen for trash bags, the release said. The front door was open. She ran through it and went to the neighbor’s for shelter.

While she was able to get away, a younger child also known to live at the home wasn’t as lucky.

Deputies forced their way in.

The mess outside was exceeded by the “disarray” indoors.

“The TV had been destroyed, laptops crushed and ripped apart, kitchen items scattered all over the place, children’s bedroom furniture thrown around, and clothes everywhere,” the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies found the father in a bedroom closet, covered in his own blood from self-inflicted cuts to his arms and waist, the release said.

The child was found hiding in a separate closet.

The 14-year-old “had obvious injuries that required her to be taken to a local hospital.”

The father was booked into the Franklin County Detention Center and is facing charges including domestic violence, assault, child abuse and criminal mischief, the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Neighbors rescue injured teen after dad flies into fit of rage, Alabama cops say."