A pot of hot cooking oil is central in the trial of a Farrell man accused of throwing that oil on a woman, severely burning her.

Mercer County Assistant District Attorney William Moder Thursday presented his case against Charles D. Norris, 29, of 1225 Roemer Blvd., who is charged with aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and retaliation against a witness or victim.

Moder told jurors that Crystal Bailey, 24, of 805 Ravine Place, Sharon, was frying chicken Sept. 30 at the home of Bobbi Sue Edes, when Norris hit Ms. Bailey and threw the hot oil on her.

Public Defender Lowell Williams said Norris, who is expected to testify today, will say that Ms. Bailey hit him and he fell into the stove accidentally causing the pot of oil to fall on her.

Ms. Bailey testified that she was in the kitchen when Norris walked in the house uninvited. She said she asked Norris why he was there and they argued.

Ms. Bailey said she told Norris she was going to call the police, and he punched her in the chin, splitting it open.

She said Norris knocked her down and as she was getting up she saw him reaching for the pot of oil so she grabbed a chair. As she raised it, he threw the oil on her, she said.

Ms. Bailey said the grease hit the left side of her body -- her arms, shoulder, back, under her breast, behind her ear and her forehead. She said at first she didn't even realize she had been burned, and that she swung the chair at Norris twice though she never hit him.

"The second time I was trying to knock his head off to be honest," Ms. Bailey said.

Ms. Bailey, Sharon patrolman Vincent Martwinski and Ms. Edes -- who did not see Norris throw the oil -- testified that the oil was all over the kitchen.

There is still grease that won't come off, Ms. Edes said. "Her (Ms. Bailey's) skin is on my floor," she said.

Ms. Bailey said she is still being treated for her second- and third-degree burns and will probably need a skin graft.

Martwinski said when he arrived, Ms. Bailey was topless but covered with a towel, and he could see her skin blistering.

After the alleged attack, Norris ran and police searched for him for more than a week before Southwest Mercer County Regional police found him on Wallis Avenue in Farrell.

Ms. Bailey claimed Norris went to the house because he was trying to keep her from testifying against him in another case. Judge Thomas R. Dobson ordered the jurors not to consider that statement in their deliberations.

In December 2001, Norris was charged by Southwest police after he hit a woman in the eye with a drinking glass, punched her and hit her with the broken glass, police said.

That same month he was charged by Sharon police, who said he went to the home of a woman who was to testify against him about the assault, parked in front of her home, opened his car doors and played songs with violent content.

Norris was arrested again in March on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, intimidation of a witness or victim, retaliation against a witness or victim, making terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief after police said he broke into a woman's home and entered her bedroom with a butcher knife.