An Orange County man was arrested after allegedly stabbing his young son in the neck with a screwdriver.
Christopher Lee Kearns, 28, of Santa Ana is accused of stabbing his 8-year-old son several times with a screwdriver and slashing him in the hands with a knife while the boy was visiting him at a sober living facility, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
On Feb. 10, the boy visited Kearns at the facility he was staying in. The boy’s mother and stepfather arrived at the facility to pick him up and waited outside on the facility’s driveway.
That’s when authorities said Kearns took the boy into his room at the facility and placed the boy on his lap to talk about God.
He allegedly told the boy that he would “send him home to God” before placing his hand over the boy’s mouth and nose to keep him from yelling for help.
He then attacked the boy with a screwdriver and knife while he held him down on the bed, according to court documents.
The boy was stabbed twice in the neck with the screwdriver and had defensive wounds from the knife, authorities said.
Another resident heard the boy’s screams and was able to pull Kearns off the boy, who was bleeding profusely at the time.
He was transported to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County where he remained hospitalized for several days.
“This little boy was in the fight for his life against his own father, and it is nothing short of a miracle that he managed to survive being stabbed twice in the neck,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It is unimaginable the absolute fear that this child felt knowing that his own father tried to stab him to death while his mother was outside waiting to pick him up. We are so grateful for the amazing work of the staff at CHOC to save this little boy’s life and we are committed to pursuing justice for this little boy.”
Kearns was charged with attempted murder, child abuse and endangerment, and two felony enhancements of personally using a deadly weapon. He was also charged with one felony enhancement of inflicting great bodily injury.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years and four months in prison. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for March 1. He is currently being held at the Intake Release Center in lieu of $700,000 bond.
