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An El Paso man accused in a brutally horrific attack that critically wounded his ex-wife, whom he allegedly believed was an “evil witch,” sobbed and wiped away tears at a jail bond hearing over the weekend.
Marcus Anthony Payne, 40, a U.S. Army combat veteran struggling with mental health problems, is being held on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a $150,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.
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The extremely violent episode last Thursday, Aug. 22 — described by Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez as “horrific” — was recounted in a criminal complaint and a teleconference bond hearing for Payne on Sunday.
Payne is accused of brutalizing his ex-wife, who went knocking on neighbors’ doors seeking help after escaping from his home on Tierra Mision Drive, where she had been locked in a dog kennel while bleeding heavily from bladed blows to her head and having a finger severed, the complaint stated.
“The defendant (Payne) made a statement that he thought he was fighting with a witch. So, he might have been under some type of delusion at the time of the alleged offense,” Nuñez said at the hearing.
The hearing, which takes place 48-hours after a person is jailed to determine whether a bond amount should be lowered or kept the same, was eventually reset for Friday after the judge ordered that Payne undergo a mental health evaluation.
The victim was identified as Jennifer Lynn Lambert at the hearing.
“Jennifer is a loving and dedicated veteran. She has always been strong and independent but this tragic event has turned her world upside down,” her brother, Travis Lambert, posted on a GoFundMe page. Lambert’s family is from San Antonio and is seeking donations to help with medical, travel and other related expenses.
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During the hearing, Payne’s voice cracked with emotion as he sobbed and wiped away tears while answering questions from public defense attorney A. Marcelo Rivera.
Payne said he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after serving in the military from 2005 to 2013, including two combat tours in Iraq and in South Korea “during the missile scare.” “I did my time honorably,” he said.
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Payne, who sported a long goatee beard and wore an orange-and-white striped jail jumpsuit, said in a voice breaking with emotion that he didn’t have a job and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a serious brain disorder that can include delusions and hallucinations.
Payne told the court that he lives alone with his two dogs at a home in the 3300 block of Tierra Mision Drive, near Sgt. Roberto Ituarte Elementary School in the Eastview section of the far East Side. His ex-wife is “not supposed to be at that house,” he commented.
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Payne mentioned he attended DWI court. Records show Payne is on probation after pleading guilty to a felony charge of driving while intoxicated third time or more on Oct. 28, 2020 in 120th District Court.
Judge Maria Salas-Mendoza issued a six-year suspended jail sentence with six years of probation, a $1,000 fine and 300 hours of community service, according to court records.
At the hearing, Payne said, “Judge Salas-Mendoza granted me permission to use cannabis, marijuana products instead of the slew of medications that I was on at the VA (Veterans Affairs Department) because they were shutting my organs down and killing me. Judge Salas-Mendoza is the one who approved that.”
Magistrate Judge Nuñez responded to him, “All right, I will discuss that with Judge Salas-Mendoza, that seems very unusual and highly unlikely.”
Salas-Mendoza did not reply to an opportunity for comment made to her office. Judges don’t normally discuss cases in their courts.
El Paso police show up, decide to leave
On Aug. 22, some time prior to the assault, El Paso police were dispatched to a call of gunshots fired on Tierra Mision Drive, the complaint affidavit stated.
A caller reported hearing five to six gunshots and that Payne was at their front door rambling. When officers arrived, they saw Payne yelling and throwing objects before he ran back into his home, the affidavit stated.
Officers spoke with Payne’s mother over the phone and learned that he had mental health issues and that the presence of the police would only aggravate him further, the affidavit stated.
Payne’s mother notified his ex-wife, who showed up and was able to calm him down, though he refused to step outside the house to meet with officers, the affidavit stated. The ex-wife stayed with him.
“Due to the circumstances, the decision was made to break down the perimeter and leave the Defendant (Payne) inside his residence,” the police affidavit stated.
Bleeding woman knocks on neighbors’ doors for help
It was about 6:13 a.m. when several neighbors called 911 to report a disturbance and yelling. One neighbor reported that he could see through his doorbell camera, a woman bleeding and banging on his door, the affidavit stated.
Paramedics arrived and rushed Payne’s ex-wife to a hospital, where she was intubated and underwent emergency medical procedures, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Marcantel said at the bond hearing. Her current condition has not been disclosed.
The affidavit stated that the woman had about six lacerations to her head, a broken skull with exposed brain matter and multiple defensive wounds to her arms and hands. Her left-hand middle finger was missing and appeared to have been cut off.
“The blood trail goes from his (Payne’s) home to several neighbors. It looks like she must have been going to try to get help,” Marcantel said.
The first two police officers arrived to find Payne standing in the front yard with a pitbull. He was given commands to stop, complied and was taken into custody without incident, the affidavit stated.
Bloody house scene on Tierra Mision Drive
After being detained, Payne told officers that he was fighting with a “witch” and that he was able to trick her into getting into a “cage,” the affidavit stated.
Officers did a safety sweep of the home looking for any additional victims and found blood throughout the inside of the residence along with a small axe with blood on it on top of a mattress, a machete, a handgun, unfired bullets and spent casings, the affidavit stated.
The investigation was taken over by detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit, who obtained a search warrant to search the home further.
Investigators found a portion of the woman’s finger that had been severed and a trail of blood throughout the house along with clusters of hair. A dog kennel with a large pool of blood allegedly corroborated Payne’s comments about placing a “witch” in a cage by placing someone inside the kennel, the affidavit stated.
El Paso man claims he battled ‘evil witch’ in dream
When interviewed at El Paso police headquarters, Payne told detectives that he did not remember what had happened that night, but recalled having a dream where he was fighting an “evil witch.” He dreamed he landed several blows with two swords he used to fight the witch, the affidavit stated.
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Payne told detectives that he had a machete and an axe inside his house. The sandals that Payne was wearing belonged to his ex-wife, who he believed was at his house earlier.
When asked by detectives if Payne believed that the “witch” he was fighting was actually his ex-wife, Payne allegedly stated that it must have been, according to the affidavit.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ‘Evil witch,’ mental illness and horror at a home in far East El Paso
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