Ex-convict who claimed to be Jesus strangled a Muslim woman with her own head scarf as she delivered him food

An Atlanta man claiming to be Jesus attacked a Muslim delivery driver and strangled her with her own head scarf as she delivered food to him — and later learned that he'd been booked for violence in the past.

Atlanta's WSB-TV reported that Sonya King, a Muslim woman who wears the fully-covered niqab, fought back after 54-year-old Rick Painter grabbed her from behind. As she used her fingers to poke him in the eyes and her keys to fight back and get him to let go of her, the woman said her attacker claimed it "feels good."

"He seemed normal," King told WSB-TV. "Anybody would have went in."

As he grabbed his wallet to give her a cash tip, Painter told the woman, "by the way, I'm Jesus" before grabbing her.

"He's grabbing me and trying to choke me with my own niqab," she said. "I kept telling that man I've got kids. In the midst of me fighting him, he's grabbing my head."

"He thought he was Jesus," King continued, "but Jesus wouldn't do that to nobody."

Painter was charged with battery while being treated for the injuries he incurred while attacking King, and upon researching him, WSB-TV discovered the man had been jailed several times for violent offenses.