Bond denied for man accused of stabbing wife, setting apartment on fire

Tarus Tramaine Henry

By: Patricia Burkett | SCNOW
Published: June 24, 2008

Bond has been denied for a Florence man accused of stabbing of his wife, cutting off her hands and setting their apartment on fire Monday.

Tarus Tramaine Henry, 27, of 4711 Patriot Lane, Apt. C1C, was arrested Monday when he went to a Kershaw County hospital to seek treatment for a wound, Florence County Sheriff’s Capt. Julius Lee said.

Henry is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, second-degree arson and two counts of unlawful neglect of a child in connection with an assault and fire happened before noon Monday at Patriot Place apartments, off East Palmetto Street.

Henry’s 23-year-old wifeis on a ventilator at a Florence hospital and both of her hands had been cut off, a victim’s advocate told Circuit Court Judge Belinda Timmons during Henry’s bond hearing Tuesday afternoon.

The woman also suffered stab wounds through her skull, her spine and her chest, the victim’s advocate said.

The victim’s advocate also relayed information she said the victim told her family. In those conversations, the victim said she was left in the apartment after the attack and crawled out for help.

A witness told deputies he saw the victim leave the apartment covered in blood with what appeared to be large gashes in her head and arm, according to sheriff’s office reports.

The suspect took the woman to a Florence emergency room and left with two children — the couple’s 7-month-old baby and a 4-year-old child of Henry’s from a previous marriage, Lee said.

In the courtroom Tuesday, Henry told Timmons he “felt sorry” for his wife at the time.

He also told Timmons he drove to another county with his two children so that they could stay with his mother.

The children are now in a relative’s custody, according to the sheriff’s office.

After Timmons denied bond for Henry’s release from the Florence County Detention Center in Effingham, she told him he’s not allowed to have any contact with the victim’s family.

Henry is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in circuit court in August.

— Morning News Staff Writers Jamie Rogers and Charles Tomlinson contributed to this report.