DeLand, Fl - A woman is in intensive care after what she says was a severe beating with a brick and a hammer by 35-year-old Aaron Baxter. The DeLand man is charged with attempted second-degree murder in the incident.
A Volusia County Sheriff's deputy responded to the yard of a residence off Adelle Avenue and Lenox Court Friday (August 30) night around 11:15 p.m. He found the 55-year-old victim barely responsive and bleeding heavily in the tent she lives in. She was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford with multiple significant head injuries that were believed to be life-threatening. She remained in ICU until Sunday.
When the woman regained consciousness, she told investigators that Baxter choked her and hit her in the head with a hammer then hit her eight or nine times with a brick. The victim also said she managed to strike Baxter in the nose with a flashlight.
Since Baxter was identified as the potential suspect, investigators interviewed him. He denied any connection to the beating but did say he knew the victim. He also admitted to buying pills from her on occasion and said he'd texted her the day of the beating and that she was fine.
During the interview, Baxter was asked about what looked like a fresh injury covered with a bandage on the bridge of his nose. He told detectives that he'd fallen in the parking lot of a DeLand 7-11. A check of surveillance footage did not tell the same story. It showed Baxter at the store getting napkins for his wound. No video showed him falling and the on-duty employee did not witness a fall.
When a detective went back to Baxter's home on Sunday (Sept 1), the door was answered by 36-year-old Timothy Rivett, who told detectives that Baxter was at Walmart and detectives could meet him there. One detective went to Walmart. The other stayed behind and several minutes later, Baxter came out of the house with Rivett. They were pulled over for a traffic stop and taken to jail.
Baxter is being held on no bond due to the second-degree murder charge. Rivett is charged with resisting a law enforcement officer without violence and is being held on a $1,000 bond. Both remain in the Volusia County Jail
