Crime

Man Allegedly Brutally Attacks 71-Year-Old Mother, Ordered to Undergo Psych Evaluation

ST. THOMAS — A man must undergo a psychological evaluation after allegedly brutally attacking his mother.  On the afternoon of Saturday April 29, a V.I. Police Department detective was dispatched to the Schneider Regional Medical Center to meet with the victim of an alleged assault. There, they met an elderly woman with a black eye and several scrapes and bruises all over her body. The 71-year old told police that she was at home that morning around 8:30, sleeping in her bed, when she was awakened by a hand around her throat. As her eyelids fluttered open, the woman told police that a fist smashed into her face. She tried to get away, but Vernel Williams, her eldest son, was still holding her by the throat. He punched her several more times, the woman recounted, tightening his grip on her neck and concentrating his blows in the upper chest and stomach.  The injured woman said she kept trying to get up, and at one point Williams tried to bend her hand backward, but could not. This un...