Woman who lost both eyes testifies in Hamilton County court against accused attacker

Michael Roberson
Michael Roberson
photo Michael Roberson

A woman whose eyes were gouged out in September testified against her accused attacker Wednesday, helping Chattanooga prosecutors send his criminal charges to a grand jury.

Three officers led Tinesia Davenport into a Hamilton County General Sessions courtroom and sat the 33-year-old mother down in the witness box. Davenport was face-to-face with Michael Roberson, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault.

But she couldn't see him, the judge or the attorneys.

"Ms. Davenport, my name's Neal Pinkston," the Hamilton County district attorney general said, "and I'm to your right. Judge [Clarence] Shattuck is also to your right. How do you know Mr. Roberson?"

Wearing a bandage over where her eyes used to be, Davenport recalled Sept. 27, the night her former boyfriend tried to kill her, she said.

Davenport said she drove to the 7300 block of Frances Drive, where Roberson was living with his mother, to pick up their 2-year-old son. They'd broken up about a year ago, Davenport said, but she still saw Roberson a few times a week during drop-offs and pick-ups.

Davenport said she and Roberson met three years ago and she knew he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. But she didn't know he wasn't taking his medication. "We wouldn't discuss that," she said.

Lately, Roberson had been argumentative, afraid of losing his son, and on Sept. 27 he asked to move in together, Davenport said. Standing in Roberson's mother's basement, she told him that wasn't a good idea and tried to leave with their son.

"That's when he started hitting me in the head," Davenport said.

Davenport said the punches knocked her and her son onto a nearby couch. The assault stopped when Davenport began screaming for Roberson's mother. Cradling her son, Davenport rushed up the stairs, but Roberson followed her and opened the door.

"It sounded like a trap," she said. "He went into the kitchen and he got something out of the drawer, but I didn't stick around to see what it was."

Davenport said she ran outside, but Roberson tackled her to the ground and gouged her eyes out with his fingers.

"I kept screaming to his mother for help," Davenport said. "Michael Roberson told her if she tried to help, he was going to do the same thing to her."

By the time police arrived, Davenport had lost both her eyes, was stabbed in the stomach and breast and had a laceration on her arm, according to court records. A responding officer testified Monday that his colleague saw cartilage underneath Roberson's fingers at the scene.

Eleven years earlier, Roberson was charged with aggravated assault for attacking officers who went to stop his aggressive behavior at Patten Towers, court records show. The charges were dismissed about a year and a half later when a judge ruled Roberson was not guilty by way of insanity.

Prosecutors and Roberson's defense attorneys said they would address the 45-year-old's mental competency at a later date.

Wednesday's hearing concerned whether there was enough proof to continue prosecuting the case, and Judge Clarence Shattuck said there was.

"This is probably the most gruesome case that I have heard on a non-fatal charge," Shattuck said. "You can't help but wonder if the defendant had continued taking his shots, continued his medication, whether we'd be here or not."

If Roberson is indicted, his case moves onto Hamilton County Criminal Court.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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