A man from Louisville allegedly hailed Satan after his arraignment in court on charges of beating up his girlfriend.

According to WDRB, Jeffery Thomas Scott Jr was charged with assaulting and seriously injuring his girlfriend on Friday afternoon on 500 block of Tom Wallace Park Road, near Jefferson Memorial Forrest in Louisville.

WDRB quoted an arrest report and said that Scott repeatedly struck her in the head with a hammer. Despite her pleas for help, he continued to strike her."  Scott then apparently left her for dead.

Louisville Metropolitan Police District (LMPD) Sergeant Emily McKinley told WDRB that a passerby later found the critically injured victim, who was not named in the report, and called 911 for help. The LMPD's homicide section took over the case, and arrested Scott hours later.

The LMPD's report said that the victim sustained injuries to her skull, and observed that "(i)f she survives, her quality of life is expected to be detrimentally altered."

The victim, described as being in her 20s, is still in Louisville's University hospital and remains in critical condition.

On Monday, Scott was taken to court for arraignment. WDRB said that Scott was "smiling and laughing" on the way to the court. He later refused an attorney, prompting the judge to assign him a public defender.

As he was being led away, Scott reportedly declared: "Hail Satan!"

In response, the court cited him for contempt of court. The judge also set a $250,000 bond for bail, to be paid fully in cash. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim.

McKinley said that Scott's behaviour during his arraignment was different from his behaviour when police brought him in on Friday.

"He was very straight forward in what he did but he didn't have any outbursts like we saw today in court," the police sergeant told WDRB.