Acid attack in Canada puts woman in coma

A Quebec, Canada man will appear in court Friday facing charges that he threw acid in his girlfriend’s face, causing severe burns and forcing doctors to place her in a coma.

Police charged 27-year-old Nikolas Stefanatos of Brossard, Quebec with aggravated assault against Tanya St. Arnaud, CBC News reported.

The alleged incident happened on the weekend.

Police believe a household acid caused burns to St. Arnaud, who remains in a medically induced coma despite improving slightly today.

“We know that the product is very dangerous for the skin if it's not diluted,” police representative Martin Simard told CBC.

St. Arnaud, 29, had injuries to her face and upper body.

Police, who classified the attack as domestic violence, received the call about 5 am on Sunday.

Because doctors have placed St. Arnaud in the coma to recover, police haven’t yet interviewed her.

The victim’s brother said the acid used was concrete cleaner, the Toronto Sun reported.

Maxime Gosselin said his little sister has lost her hair and suffered third-degree burns.

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He fears that a judge – who ordered a psychiatric evaluation – will grant Stefanatos bail at his next hearing.

“I find it appalling, disgusting, what happened to my little sister,” Gosselin told the Sun. “They’ll release him. When it’s your lover who does that to you, it's not (treated) like other cases.”

She’s recovering in the burn unit of a Montreal hospital, the National Post reported.

Stefanatos appeared in court on Monday, but lawyers put his case put over until Friday for a bail hearing.

The Canadian Press reported that St-Arnaud received more than 4,000 supportive messages through her Facebook page.

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