Dennis Wayne McCabe. Submitted photo
A Yulee man has been charged with the attempted murder of his partner following a dispute over a utility bill.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office received a call on March 8 from the suspect, Dennis Wayne McCabe, 76, of Pamela Road in Yulee. According the the arrest report, McCabe was requesting medical attention for his partner, Huguette Powell, who he said was bleeding from her face and eyes after he attacked her.
“The suspect also told dispatch numerous times that rescue units needed to hurry up before he finished her off,” the report said.
The report said McCabe continued to threaten to kill Powell after deputies arrived, while she was in the residence, “in and out of consciousness,” lying in a puddle of blood with injuries to her face, head and torso.
During an interview with NCSO officers, McCabe admitted to striking Powell, who he had lived with for 24 years, over an AmeriGas bill. He said there had been “built-up stress” in the household, and that Powell had thrown objects and struck him in the chest, which he said he believed to be “a cry for help,” according to the report. He told the officers Powell had “been having recent suicidal ideations,” and that he made “the conscious decision to attempt to take the victim’s live out of mercy,” the report said. He said he had punched her in the face multiple times, kicked her ribs and kicked her in the head when she was on the floor and, the report said, would have killed her if law enforcement hadn’t responded.
“The suspect went on to say he knew what he did and he was guilty and would tell the judge the same,” the report said.
McCabe was arrested for attempted murder. He remains in the Nassau County Jail, with no bond set.