A 41-year-old man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after he was accused of bashing a woman’s head into a tree stump at Silver Springs State Park.
On Friday, October 27, an MCSO deputy was dispatched to a Silver Springs State Park campsite located at 1425 NE 58th Avenue in Silver Springs in reference to an argument and possible battery incident. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the female victim who seemed “extremely shaken up,” according to the arrest report.
The deputy noted in the report that the victim had “spots of blood” on her hands, arms, and legs. She told the deputy that she had been drinking with Eric Michael Barr, and the incident began when she “woke him up.”
The report stated that the victim initially seemed “very hesitant” to provide any information about the incident. Eventually, she pointed to the back of her head and stated that Barr “did it.” The deputy observed that over half of the victim’s hair was “covered in soaking wet blood.”
In the report, the deputy noted that the victim mentioned that she did not want Barr to go to jail, and she would “shut down” when asked about the injury to her head. She eventually told the deputy that Barr had “bashed her head against a stump” on the ground.
In the area where the victim was sitting, the deputy observed a log that had a spot of blood on it, and an open bottle of liquor was also observed on a nearby table.
The report stated that miscellaneous items were also “strewn about all over the ground.” The victim stated that Barr was “tearing up the campground” during the incident.
The deputy made contact with Barr. During a post-Miranda interview, Barr stated he had gone to bed with the victim at around 10 p.m. after the two of them had been drinking. He stated that the victim later woke up to go the restroom, which woke him up, and he added that the victim “messed up the tent to where it began to break down and collapse,” according to the report.
The deputy noted that Barr “glossed over very quickly” that the victim had hit her head on a nearby stump, and he pointed to where the incident occurred. He claimed that he was inside the tent and “didn’t see how (the victim) hit her head.”
Barr also denied that an argument with the victim had taken place after he was woken up. The report stated that multiple individuals in the area had contacted law enforcement to report an “ongoing, very loud argument” between Barr and the victim.
When asked about the miscellaneous items that appeared to have been thrown around the campsite, Barr claimed that “most of them” had been thrown by the victim, according to the report.
Barr was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and he was later released on $5,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 28, according to jail records.