Cedar Lake Man Sentenced For Attack On Mom

CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) -- A Cedar Lake man originally charged with attempted murder in an attack on his mother was sentenced to eight years for battery.

Mark James Turner was sentenced by Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell to four years in Lake County Community Corrections Kimbrough Work Program, and the remaining four years of his sentence was suspended and ordered served on probation.

Turner, 45, admitted he choked his mother, kicked her in the stomach and chest and punched her in the chest and face on June 18, 2011, at her home in Cedar Lake.

Turner's mother, who was 70 at the time, suffered several broken ribs and broken vertebrae and was knocked unconscious in the assault.

Deputy prosecutor Michael Toth asked the judge to extend the no contact order between Turner and his mother through the completion of his sentence in light of information from Turner's cell mate that Turner had said he still wanted to kill his mother and other family members.

Boswell said she would make the no contact order a "no adverse contact" order if it was recommended by the psychiatrist who will evaluate Turner.

In addition, Turner must attend a drug treatment program during his probation.

Turner had faced a maximum 50-year sentence on the attempted murder charge, which was dismissed along with aggravated battery, criminal confinement and strangulation charges.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)