A Landover, Md., woman has been charged with the attempted murder of her ex-boyfriend’s child. Helen Marie Newsome, 26, is accused of breaking into a Landover home where the 8-year-old boy was sleeping around 8 a.m. Saturday. Authorities say she held a pillow over the boy’s face and began striking him in the head with a weapon. But the boy — who told authorities he knew karate — performed a karate chop to get free, Bleeding and suffering from a head wound, the boy escaped and ran to a neighbor’s house for help. The neighbor called 911 and kept the boy until authorities arrived. The boy’s grandfather was at the home at the time of the attack. The assailant fled by jumping out a window. Newsome was arrested at her home later Saturday morning. She is charged with first-degree attempted murder and is being held on a $500,000 bond. The boy was treated at a local hospital and has been released. Authorities say Newsome had previously been in a relationship with the boy’s father. She has admitted to the assault, Prince George’s County Police said Tuesday.
