An 8-year-old Maryland boy used his karate skills to fight off his father's ex-girlfriend who police say attempted to kill him last weekend, NBC Washington reported.

Helen Marie Newsome, 26, reportedly broke into the house of her ex-boyfriend, Andy Amaya, in Landover, Md. on Saturday around 8 a.m. and began viciously attacking Amaya's son, Jacob Soliz-Amaya. Authorities say she covered the boy's face with a pillow and began beating his head with a weapon.

"I woke up and she was smothering me," Soliz-Amaya said. "While she was covering my mouth, I was thinking, and then I figured it out and then I [head-butted her]."

After fighting off his father's ex-girlfriend, the bloodied boy ran to safety at a neighbor's house who dialed 911 for him. He was taken to a local hospital where he received eight stiches on his head and was released afterwards. 

Although Newsome ran away after jumping out of a window, police arrested her later that day and charged her with attempted first-degree murder. 

"He fought through the fear and as scared as he was, he did it, and he did it by himself," said Salina Soliz, the boy's mother. "I want her to have the maximum sentence because no child should have to fear for his life and no child should have to go through what he's been through." 

Newsome is being held on $500,000 bond and admitted to attacking her ex-boyfriend's son. 

"I'm assuming she was trying to hurt me the best way possible, and what better way to hurt a parent than to hurt their kid?" the boy's father said.