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Alleged Boston Face-Biter Reportedly Told Witnesses, 'I Don't Eat Flesh, I Just Drink Blood'
19-year-old Boston man Joel Davila allegedly “hissed” in a cat-like way at intervening witnesses.
Police have arrested a Massachusetts man who allegedly bit a chunk of flesh out of a gas station attendant's face and arm — and then “hissed” at customers like a cat.
Joel Davila has been charged with mayhem and assault to maim, according an arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com.
When police arrived at a Sunoco gas station in the Boston suburb of Taunton, blood was gushing from a gaping wound under clerk Scott Trainor’s left eye, and the 55-year-old was screaming in pain, according to the report.
They reportedly discovered Davila calmly sitting cross-legged in one of the aisles with a blood-stained chin.
Witnesses said Davila had chomped down on the gas station clerk’s face and then was “rubbing his fingers” in a pool of the victim's blood, as if he was “finger painting” with it.
Michael Keegan, a 54-year-old regular customer at the gas station, who was outside at the time of the assault, told Fox News he called police, blocked the exit, and prevented Davila from leaving until authorities arrived. Then, he said things took a creepy twist.
He said Davila acted like a feral cat, “hissed at him,” and then began licking the “blood from his fingers,” which he also allegedly smeared on himself and the floor.
“[He] played finger paints in it and [he] licked it and put it all over [his] face,” Keegan told Fox News.
At that moment, Davila allegedly told Keegan, "I don't eat flesh, I just drink blood."
Police arrested Davila without incident a short time later. But when detectives couldn’t locate the chunk of flesh missing from the attendant’s face, they asked Davila, who reportedly responded, “I think I ate it, you can cut my stomach open to check."
The strange and gory scene unfolded over a shoplifting confrontation. Davila, who was known to Trainor, allegedly attempted to steal a bottled drink from the station. When the Sunoco cashier blocked him from opening a cooler, Davila “latched onto” his arm “puncturing the skin,” according to the arrest report. A struggle ensued, and the pair became “face to face.”
“Davila leaned in and bit Trainor below the left eye tearing out and free from the body a triangular chunk of skin and flesh approximately 1"x1"x1" and approximately 1/2"-3/4" deep,” the affidavit stated.
Davila supposedly told police the attendant had let it “slide” in the past when he didn’t have cash for a drink.
The clerk was taken to the hospital for his injuries, which were considered serious but not life-threatening. Police said he may need plastic surgery to repair the deep gash on his face.
Meanwhile, Davila was taken into custody where he underwent a mental health evaluation ahead of being arraigned.
During his first court appearance in Bristol County on Tuesday, Davila smiled and blew kisses for the cameras.
The 19-year-old will now undergo a 58A dangerousness hearing on May 17 “to determine if he's a danger to the public and himself or others,” ahead of standing trial, said Bristol County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Gregg Miliote. He could be held without bail for 120 days, Miliote added.
Davila is currently in custody at Bridgewater State Hospital. He reportedly suffers from addiction issues and is a diagnosed schizophrenic, according to local television station WHDH 7News.
