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Brody
Harmon Nathan Brody, 60, has been charged with aggravated battery in the case.
According to the Blountstown Police Department, Cpl. Patrick Crawford responded to Brody’s Hentz Avenue home just after 10 p.m. in response to a physical disturbance call. He found Buffy Doughty, 48, in the driveway visibly upset with blisters forming on her face and right arm. Doughty alleged Brody had thrown boiling water on her and added that she had struck him with a baseball bat to defend herself.
Brody said the argument erupted after Doughty, who he had given access to his bank account, had caused him to be overdrawn and he felt she owed him around $1400. Doughty said the fight began because she had eaten an apple pie. Doughty said she was on the computer in the bedroom when Brody tried to physically force her out of the house. Doughty said she grabbed a baseball bat and hit Brody, but didn’t swing very hard. Cpl. Crawford noted a visible hematoma on Brody’s right wrist where Doughty had struck him. She said Brody remarked, “Nobody tries me like that in my house.”
Doughty said she went back inside and eventually went into the kitchen to make some tea, placing a pot of water on the stove. She said Brody approached and initially splashed some of the water, then took the pot and threw the boiling water at her face. Doughty attempted to block the water with her arms, resulting in the blisters on her right forearm, along with her face.
Brody offered to call one of his friends to take her to the hospital, but decided to call 911 since she was uncomfortable going to the hospital with a stranger. Doughty said Brody then asked if she was going to tell anyone he threw boiling water in her face.
Brody initially agreed to give a recorded statement to authorities, then declined and requested an attorney.
Doughty was taken to Calhoun-Liberty Hospital, then transferred to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, for further treatment.