Accused of hacking a male companion with a hatchet, an Orangeburg woman on Wednesday went before a city judge where bond was set at $10,000 surety.

 A day earlier, Queen Ester Springer, 68, of 1240 St. Paul Apartments, was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill after she allegedly struck a man in the side of the head with a hatchet.

Timmie Sweat, 48, of the same address, was airlifted to Palmetto Richland Health in Columbia.

Late Wednesday, he remained in an ICU unit, police say. The man was talking to investigators, however.

An acquaintance of the couple told police he was in the apartment’s kitchen area around 12:04 p.m. Tuesday when he heard an argument break out between Springer and Sweat.

The man told police that he then heard a female say, “in a loud voice, ‘Lord, I hope he’s not dead,’” according to an incident report. The man walked into the bedroom to find Sweat “face down in a pool of blood, at which time he called 911.”

When police arrived, they heard a woman inside repeatedly screaming, “he needs help!” the report states.

Assault and battery with intent to kill carries a maximum of 20 years.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516.

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