Thomas Cahill, 22, arraigned for hammer attack on grandfather

At about 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 2, the Sumpter Township Police Department was called to a residence on Arizona Street in the Holiday West mobile home community on the report of an assault.
Upon arrival, officers found an 82-year-old male who had been bludgeoned with a hammer, sustaining serious and traumatic injuries to his head.
Officers also found that the interior of the residence, along with the victim, had been doused with an accelerant and the stove burners left on, filling the home with natural gas. Evidence showed that the accelerant had attempted to be lit.
The subsequent investigation resulted in the suspect’s vehicle being located by the Van Buren Township Police Department at a hotel in their jurisdiction at about 11 a.m. the next morning, Dec. 3. The suspect was located in a room and was taken into custody without incident.
Thomas Charles Cahill, 22, of Sumpter Township, who is the grandson of the victim, is facing numerous charges stemming from the incident. Cahill was arraigned Tuesday morning in the 34th District Court on the following charges: assault with intent to murder, torture, arson – second degree, larceny in a building and stealing/retaining a financial transaction device without consent.
He was charged as a habitual offender, second-offense notice.
A probable cause conference is set for Dec. 14 at 34th District Court, with a preliminary exam set Dec. 21.
A female acquaintance has been charged with Accessory After the Fact to a Felony, but she was yet to be arraigned as the Independent went to press.
The victim remains in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
Thomas Cahill is the nephew of Charles James Cahill, Jr., 49, who recently pled guilty to five charges in the drunk driving crash death of a 12-year-old girl. He will be sentenced on Jan. 13.