SHERWOOD FOREST, Tenn. — A man is in jail, charged with telling his own mother he would slit her throat.
David Wilson, Jr., is charged with domestic assault and vandalism.
His mother, Deborah Wilson, told WREG he has a long history of alcohol abuse, and she’s hoping tough love is the medicine he needs to finally kick the addiction.
“We want to save him, of course,” she said. “We don’t want to throw him out, but we don’t have any choice.”
Wilson said she feels like she’s running out of options when it comes to her 27-year-old son, who lives with her and his father.
“We love our son, we do. But we can no longer risk him that he may hurt one of us,” she said.
Wilson said her son’s struggle with alcohol abuse started more than ten years ago. They have tried putting him in rehab, but he never stays.
“He checks himself out,” she said. “He won’t stay and do the whole program. He’s 27. We can’t make him. Really, in Memphis, unless you have good insurance or money, there’s really nowhere to send them. There are five beds at Memphis Mental Health that are always full.”
Wilson said Monday night, David threw an ash tray through her brand new television, broke a window, shattered a glass patio door, and then threatened to slit her throat. Wilson called police and they arrested David for domestic assault and vandalism.
“He said, ‘You all can just handcuff me.’ So, the policeman said, ‘OK. Stand up.’ Today’s my birthday too, so it’s even worse,” Wilson said.
She’s praying a judge will send him back to a treatment facility and make him stay there. It wasn’t an easy choice, but Wilson said she loves her son too much not to make it.
“We’re hoping this time, for his own good, because we love him… we don’t like him right now, but we love him…That they’ll put him in forced rehab,” she said.
David Wilson, Jr.’s bond is set at $5,000. His mother said she hopes other families dealing with alcoholism can learn from her son’s mistakes.
