Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert are a gay former couple from Atlanta, Georgia and they were recently attacked by a family friend who poured boiling water on them as they slept.
The men were dating at the time when they returned to Gooden’s apartment where they often slept during their relationship. Martin Luther Blackwell was dating Gooden’s mother at the time and did not like seeing the two men sleeping together in the living room.
Tolbert told Project Q Atlanta about the traumatic incident: “We woke up to boiling hot water. I started screaming uncontrollably and I was pulled out of the house. We ran to the neighbors and called the police.”
“We were just burning. My body was just stinging. It was like a really, really severe kind of stinging. I could hardly think straight.”
Blackwell allegedly told police that he couldn’t stand seeing the two men sleeping together.
(Tolbert’s burns)
“They was stuck together like two hot dogs, so I poured a little hot water on them and helped them out.”
Blackwell remains in jail, and there is a GoFundMe account to help raise funds towards medical expenses, as both men have received very serious burns.
“At this point, I am taking it day by day. I am getting a plan together because I want to go back to school. This incident has opened a couple of doors in my head for me. I have been thinking about the medical field and public speaking and helping those who have been through similar situations. Not everybody recovers as quickly as I do mentally and emotionally. I feel I could help somebody.”
Watch an interview with Tolbert here.
