Austin woman to stand trial on charge of assaulting Mayo nurse with coffee

(ABC 6 News) – An Austin woman’s assault trial was scheduled at a hearing Monday, April 15.

Angel Maria Murdock, 32, faces a single charge of 4th-degree assault against hospital personnel, which allegedly inflicted demonstrable bodily harm.

According to court records, at about 2:40 p.m. April 3, Austin police responded to Mayo Clinic Health Services at 1,000 1st Drive NW, Austin, after a report that a registered nurse had been assaulted.

According to court documents, the nurse told police that Murdock had been in the emergency department earlier, and was angry about her child being discharged from the hospital.

The nurse said she stepped between Murdock and another nurse, and as Murdock and company began to leave, she told Murdock to stop yelling and go.

The nurse said Murdock turned around with an iced coffee in her hand and tried to hit her in the face, according to court documents.

When the nurse blocked the hit, the drink flew out of the cup, all over the wall, and into the nurse’s hair.

According to court documents, security took Murdock to the ground, and law enforcement ascertained that the nurse had a red mark and bruising on her hand, from allegedly blocking the hit.

According to court documents, Murdock told law enforcement she had thrown her cup of iced coffee at the nurse, but that it was “almost gone and it was only foam.”

“The defendant said she knows what she did was wrong and was willing to pay whatever fine, but that she was just so upset,” court documents read.

Murdock is scheduled to appear for a Mower County pretrial hearing Aug. 9, followed by a trial Aug. 19.