Sledgehammer-wielding stepdad made boy put hand on table as 'everyone believed' he would 'smash' it: Police

A 42-year-old Florida stepfather is accused of threatening to smash an 11-year-old boy's hand with a sledgehammer after destroying the boy's belongings because the child and his 13-year-old sister would not confess to breaking a tripod.

Keith Hall was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of child abuse and two counts of tampering with a victim, court records show.

Maggie Gurley, the children's mother, was charged with two counts of failure to protect and two counts of tampering with a victim.

According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Bay County Sheriff's Office began investigating Sept. 2 after a Merritt Brown Middle School resource deputy received an anonymous online report concerning the children. The kids lived with Hall and Gurley at a home in the 6100 block of Pippin Road in Panama City.

The report included the home's address and a message that read: "I lied and my stepdad made me throw away everything in my room and threatened to use a sledgehammer to smash my hand."

The deputy identified the two children and interviewed them separately. The younger child told investigators that he had damaged a tripod in the yard about two weeks earlier but initially denied breaking it because he was afraid of the consequences.

"[The boy continuously lied to the defendant which led to the defendant grabbing a sledgehammer which he dragged to [the boy's] room," the affidavit says. "[The boy] stated the defendant immediately began swinging the sledgehammer all over the place while hitting his toys, furniture, and all of his and the victim's belongings."

Hall then ordered the boy to put his hand on a table and raised the sledgehammer as though he was going to strike it, the boy is said to have told investigators. He said he was " extremely scared and thought the defendant was going to hit his hand with the sledgehammer."

The girl's account was similar, according to the charging document.

She allegedly said she falsely claimed responsibility for breaking the tripod after seeing how frightened her brother was because she did not want him to be hurt. She told investigators she would rather have been hurt herself than see her brother struck, and that both children believed they were going to be harmed, the affidavit claims.

Gurley was allegedly present and eventually confronted Hall, telling him, "We're not going to do this."

The children then cleaned up the damaged rooms, police said.

The younger child told investigators he wanted evidence of what had happened and secretly used a digital camera to photograph the damage. Investigators later recovered the camera and found photographs showing damaged furniture and a room in disarray.

The older child told investigators that after the deputy's initial contact, Hall became angry and the adults tried to determine who had filed the report. She said Hall told her to "shut the f— up" and that both adults ordered the children not to discuss what had happened. She also said she overheard Gurley tell Hall to tell the Department of Children and Families that nothing had happened and there had been no sledgehammer when officials returned to the home.

Forensic interviews with both children produced "some indicators of mental injury," according to the affidavit, which said investigators had reason to believe the incident caused psychological harm to both children.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the residence Sept. 30 and arrested Hall and Gurley.

"Following his arrest and after being advised of his Miranda rights, Hall admitted to using a sledgehammer to destroy furniture and belongings in the children's bedrooms," the sheriff's office wrote in a news release. "He acknowledged both children were present and later made them carry the damaged items to a backyard burn pile, where he burned them. Hall also identified the location of the sledgehammer."

Hall denied threatening the older child with the weapon but told investigators he did not consider his conduct extreme, allegedly saying he felt it "to be a valid punishment."

Gurley admitted she was present throughout the incident and witnessed Hall damaging the children's belongings. She acknowledged that both children were "present and crying and that everyone believed Hall was going to strike the boy with the sledgehammer."

She also admitted telling the children not to say anything about what happened and said she failed to report the incident because she did not want to be unable to provide for the family.

Hall and Gurley were booked into the Bay County Jail. They are scheduled to appear for their arraignments Nov 5.