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Hilton Head woman struck 84-year-old relative on the head with a hammer, deputies say

A Hilton Head woman faces a felony charge after allegedly assaulting her elderly relative with a hammer, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Cynthia Berry, 58, was charged Monday night with assault and battery in the first degree, Beaufort County jail records show.

The assault occurred just after 3 p.m. in a home on Muddy Creek Road, located just outside the Spanish Wells neighborhood. Berry and her male relative were in the middle of an argument when Berry picked up a hammer and struck him in the head, according to Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

After calling police, the man was taken to Hilton Head Hospital, where he required staples to mend the laceration on the back of his head. He is in stable condition, Viens said.

Berry and the man lived in the same house at the time of the incident, Viens said. No one else was home when the assault happened.

In South Carolina, assault and battery in the first degree is a felony punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

Berry is being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash bond, records show.

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