Glen Ellyn man says bloody beating of his father was self-defense
Charles Mitchell says it was self-defense when he "hit (his) dad pretty hard" during an altercation last June, but the Glen Ellyn man testified Wednesday that he never intended to kill his father.
Mitchell, who lived with his 61-year-old father, John and brother, Joseph, at a hotel on the 600 block of Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, is standing trial this week, charged with attempted first-degree murder and two counts of domestic battery.
Charles Mitchell took the stand Wednesday afternoon to tell jurors his side of the story.
Mitchell, who is representing himself in the trial, told jurors he and his brother, Joseph, got into a "mostly verbal" dispute over the use of a shared cellphone sometime around 1 a.m. June 14, 2016. Mitchell, 27, said as the altercation became more heated, he kicked Joseph out of the room, at which time Joseph went to the hotel lobby to call the police.
Mitchell said his father then woke up and became angry because the police had been to the hotel for them several times in the few years they've lived there.
Mitchell said his father, who had been drinking heavily during the day, initiated the altercation and tried to push him out of the room.
"My dad was trying to hit me and I hit him first in self-defense," Mitchell told the jurors. "I hit him two or three times in the face and I kicked him around his head and chest area. After that, I let him be."
John Mitchell suffered two brain hemorrhages, a nearly amputated ear, a broken jaw, several missing teeth and bruising to his forehead, chest and legs.
Several Glen Ellyn police officers and paramedics testified Tuesday about first being called to the hotel shortly after midnight June 14 to tend to Joseph Mitchell's injuries and to arrest Charles Mitchell in connection with their fight.
But they were called back around 1:19 a.m. when Joseph Mitchell returned to the hotel room and found his father collapsed in a pool of blood between the room's two beds.
Assistant State's Attorney Bethany Jackson hammered Mitchell during cross examination, demanding to know why he never sought medical attention for his father when the police initially arrived.
"I didn't think my dad was hurt that bad. He was groggy. I thought he just needed some time," he said. "Maybe I should have told police to get medical attention for my father."
Charles Mitchell also downplayed the severity of the scratches and eye gouge Joseph Mitchell suffered in their altercation.
"Those are self-imposed scratches. It's almost comical," Mitchell said. "He put those scratches around his neck."
Closing arguments will begin in the case at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The 12-member jury is expected to begin deliberating the case shortly thereafter.