Florida woman accused of pouring soup on boyfriend faces attempted first-degree murder charge

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- (WPTV) -- Florida police are searching for a woman who poured a pot of boiling hot soup over her boyfriend's head, leaving him in critical condition.

Misty Childs, 41, is wanted on a charge of attempted first-degree murder, according to St. Petersburg (Florida) Police Department.

The incident occurred just after midnight Sunday as Childs argued with her boyfriend, Lavont Moss, 45.

Moss went to bed after the argument, police said. That's when Childs poured the hot soup on his face and upper torso and left.

Moss is currently fighting for his life.

Ashleigh Ferris and Wesley Clark said Moss, their roommate, is fighting for his life.

Moss' roommates, Ashleigh Ferris and Wesley Clark, had stepped outside for a smoke when they heard blood-curdling screams from inside the halfway house.

"I ran inside and he said, 'She burned me! She burned me!" Clark said. "And he ripped his tank top off. It was stuck to his back. Then he just fell over on the couch flat."

"He was barely able to breathe because of the pain. He was moaning," Ferris said.

Clark, who trained as a paramedic, said the injuries were some of the worst he has seen.

"His skin, it just looked like someone took his shoulder blades and grabbed the skin and pulled it off," Clark said.

The boiling soup could have severe, even fatal, complications for Moss.

"The doctors informed us that the scalding water went into his nose, his mouth and all the way down his throat," said Rick Shaw, St. Petersburg police spokesman. "So the issue here is not just the burning of the skin but the possibility of infection and that could cause death."