Curtis Maroney - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina

Curtis Maroney

LEESVILLE, SC (WIS) - A Midlands mother defends her son. He's one of the Midlands' Most Wanted, accused of beating his wife.

Deputies say 49-year-old Curtis Maroney from Leesville got married two months ago, and last Monday he beat up his wife.
  
While she has gone into hiding, Maroney's mother is defending her son.

"I knew what he did might have been wrong, but I'm gonna tell you something, to me it's not," says Thelma Maroney.

Thelma doesn't think deputies should be looking for her son Curtis. She feels the way he handled his wife last Monday was justified.

"Once you get married, your wife, she's supposed to be with you, husband's supposed to be with you," she says.

Not the case in her son's marriage. Deputies say only two months after the wedding, the wife said she was leaving.

"And he said 'no you're not.' And he said 'I'll kill you before I let you leave.'" says Sheriff James Metts.

Metts says Maroney pushed his wife down into a recliner and pulled her hair.

"He attacked her, he hit her several times. And he held her down both hands above her head," says Metts. "And she finally got the phone and was gonna call 911, he jerked the phone out of her hand and told her she was not going to leave."

Metts says after the incident Maroney's wife left the area to hide from him. Deputies can't find him.

"He told me 'mom, I know I shouldn't have done it,'" she says.

Thelma says she's been in touch with her son by telephone.  

"He was just trying to calm her down, wanted her to sit down and calm down. And she said he was holding her but he said he was just trying to calm her down," she says. "I don't want nobody mistreating my children, I don't want nobody mistreating my husband, and I told everybody I'll tell Sheriff Metts, you can talk about me all you want to, but don't talk about my younguns."

Nevertheless, Metts believes the life of one Midlands woman is at great risk until Maroney is caught.

"She is afraid of the individual, wants him caught, and she's pretty much put her life on hold until this is resolved," says Metts.

Reported by Jordan Sandler

Updated by Logan Smith