THOMASVILLE — A 47-year-old Thomasville man is charged with assaulting the mother of his child and his 4-year-old son and with kidnapping the boy.

According to reports, on Sunday night, Marco Hayes went to a house in the 400 block of Raleigh Avenue to get his vehicle. The mother of his child and Hayes’ son live at the residence, a Thomasville Police Department incident report stated.

Hayes walked into the house, locked the door and told the mother, “B—-, You’re going to die today,” according to the report.

The victim told police Hayes knocked her down, she told the boy to run outside to call police, and Hayes knocked the child down, the report states.

The woman said Hayes repeatedly punched her on her face and head, the report states, and placed his hand around her neck and squeezed until she blacked out.

When the 34-year-old woman came to, she ran to a neighbor’s house and notified police.

Hayes called dispatch and reported where he was and the location of the boy.

The report states that Hayes was found on Barnes Street. The boy was with a family member on Wall Street. Hayes was arrested, and the child was turned over to family members.

The mother was treated at Archbold Memorial Hospital.

“The attack on her was pretty significant and very violent,” said Lt. Toby Knifer, Thomasville Police Department Criminal Investigations Division commander.

“He knocked the little boy down while he was assaulting the woman,” the commander said. 

The child, he said, was trapped under his mother during the attack.

“He was basically being smothered,” Knifer said.

During the assault, the suspect pulled the woman’s wig off and set it on fire, the commander said.

Hayes, 524 Webster St., is in the Thomas County Jail awaiting arraignment.

He is charged with three counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, cruelty to children, arson and burglary. Knifer said a burglary charge does not apply only to theft, but when a felony took place inside the residence.

Knifer said Hayes served a federal prison term for a narcotics conviction. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820