North Carolina man Michael Hutton appeared in court last Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, drug charges and attempted first-degree murder. Hutton is currently accused of beating up his girlfriend, 17-year-old Hannah Connaway, for a sarcastic comment she made.

As reported by WECT6, 18-year-old Hutton is accused of severely assaulting Connaway at the former’s family residence. Claudine Williams, Connaway’s friend, said she was with the couple at the house when the events occurred.

According to her, the altercation between the two began with a disagreement over a couple of text messages. Around the time of the fight, Hutton was showing signs of frustration because he was unsuccessfully untangling his fishing lines. Allegedly, Connaway kept uttering snide remarks during the couple’s conversation which offended Hutton. Williams’ statement implied that Connaway’s sarcastic comment may have pushed Hutton to assault his girlfriend.

Williams said:

“He was angry because he couldn’t untangle fishing lines. He was blaming her (Hannah) for some things like having snarky remarks to things he was saying, and then it just escalated and kept on going.”

The assault reportedly took place inside the house and ended in the Hutton family’s front yard. According to Williams, Hutton beat up and strangled his girlfriend before dragging her across the yard. Connaway received severe injuries on the head and neck.

“I keep on hearing her screaming and I keep on hearing all the sounds and it’s just awful. I ran around the front door. I tried to get in. All the doors were locked. It was just awful.”

Connaway was found unconscious in the yard by emergency responders and was immediately taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

“She’s bleeding and on the ground. She can’t walk,’ a caller told a 911 operator late Friday night. ‘It’s her boyfriend, and he’s threatening and screaming at us to get back in the car, so I just need someone to be there.”

An update by WECT6 revealed that Connaway is currently recovering and showing signs of improvement.

Hutton is facing up to 30 years in jail, according to the Daily Mail, for felony assault by strangulation, first degree kidnapping, felony assault to inflict serious injury, misdemeanor assault on a female and a misdemeanor drug charge.

Family members revealed that Hutton may be suffering from mental conditions and that Connaway was aware of it. Connaway’s grandmother, Cynthia Strickland, said that Hutton’s girlfriend believed that she could “save him” and “help him” with his issues.

Michael Hutton was arrested Saturday and remains behind bars at the New Hanover County Jail. His bond was set at $1 million.

[Images from Facebook and New Hanover County via Daily Mail]