Horace Kennerly Jr. was furious when he learned his ex-wife’s new boyfriend spanked his 6-year-old daughter, so he ran over the man with a car, beat him with a fence post and stabbed him in the face — all while his daughter watched and pleaded for him to stop, according to court records.
Kennerly, 35, of Laurel, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault in the attack Monday on his 26-year-old ex-wife and her boyfriend, Robert Larson, outside their house in the 1800 block of Watch House Circle North in Severn, police said.
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Kennerly’s attorney Gary Diamond declined comment Thursday.
The beating left Larson in critical condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma in Baltimore, suffering from multiple stab wounds, a kidney injury, a broken leg and pelvis as well as several cracked ribs, according to charging documents.
After ramming through a fence and running over Larson with his Chevrolet Tahoe, Kennerly backed up and accelerated to run over him a second time.
He screeched to a stop when his daughter ran in front of the car shouting, “No Daddy!” according to charging documents.
Kennerly then picked up a broken fence post and beat Larson in the head before pulling a knife and stabbing him in the face multiple times.
“I should have cut your f****** throat,” he told Larson before returning to his car and gunning it out of the neighborhood, according to charging documents.
Kennerly turned himself into Anne Arundel police shortly after, saying he was angry because Larson had disciplined his daughter, and his ex-wife hadn’t packed shoes that fit the girl while she was staying with him for the weekend.
He decided not to take his daughter directly to school that morning, but instead drove to his ex-wife’s house and swung a baseball bat at her head when she opened the door, according to charging documents.
Kennerly told police he hadn’t intended to strike his ex-wife with the Tahoe or run over Larson, but the vehicle “somehow … went into drive, and he couldn’t control it,” according to charging documents.
Kennerly told police that Larson started the fight by bringing a knife outside and punching him in the head, according to charging documents.
Police said witnesses contradicted Kennerly’s account.
Neighbors watched the attack from their windows, calling 911 after awaking at 6:30 a.m. to screams and screeching tires.
Court records indicate Kennerly has domestic violence charges involving his ex-wife.
