Md. boy, 8, fights off father's ex-girlfriend as she allegedly tries to kill him with dumbbell, report says

(CBS) LANDOVER, Md. - An 8-year-old boy fought off his father's ex-girlfriend as she allegedly tried to kill him by smothering him and beating him over the head with a dumbbell over the weekend, authorities in Maryland say.

Helen Marie Newsome, 26, is accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend's Landover home late Friday night and hiding for more than 12 hours until the boy's father went to work Saturday morning. Police say Newsome then covered the boy's face with a pillow and beat him in the head with a dumbbell weight.

NBC Washington reports the boy fought off Newsome using karate moves and was able to escape to a neighbor's house.

"I woke up and she was smothering me," the boy told the station. "While she was covering my mouth, I was thinking, and then I figured it out and then I [head-butted her]."

The 8-year-old was treated at a local hospital for injuries to his head and has since been released.

Newsome jumped out a window following the attack, but police caught up with her at her home in Landover later Saturday morning. Police said she admitted to assaulting the boy.

The boy's father had recently broke up with Newsome.

"I'm assuming she was trying to hurt me the best way possible, and what better way to hurt a parent than to hurt their kid?" Jacob's father, Andy Amaya told NBC Washington.

Newsome is charged with first-degree attempted murder and is currently being held on a $500,000 bond. Online court records do not list an attorney for her.