A judge has handed down a ruling after Nicolas Cage’s son was accused of brutally attacking his mother, Christina Fulton.
Weston Coppola Cage, 34, allegedly launched into a violent attack against his mother outside his Los Angeles apartment on April 28, 2024 - a night she says nearly ended her life.
According to Daily Mail, Fulton rushed to her son's home after receiving alarming messages from friends who said Weston was setting his apartment “on fire".
When she arrived, she said her son was “furious” and refused the cheeseburger she had brought him. The situation escalated after a car pulled up and rattled a gate, a moment she says triggered Weston to “snap".
The mom alleged that Weston “grabbed her by her hair, shoved her to the floor of an elevator and got on top of her,” proceeding to “crush” and “suffocate” her with his full body weight.
“He shoved his thumb in my eye socket. The pain was excruciating. My vision went black,” she said. “I was losing consciousness.”
When the elevator doors opened, Fulton said Weston turned on his best friend, the second alleged victim in the case, before returning to attack her again. She claimed he slammed her into a wall, stood on her neck, and strangled her while his friend tried to pull him off.
“If it wasn’t for [the friend] who risked his life to save me, my family would have buried me, and Weston would have gone to prison,” she stated.
Fulton sustained serious injuries in the incident, which she described in a statement released shortly after Weston’s arrest. “When I arrived to offer support and console him, he was already in the midst of a manic rage. Within minutes, I was brutally assaulted and sustained serious injuries,” she said.
Weston was arrested in July 2024 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $150,000 bond.
This week, nearly a year later, Los Angeles County Judge Enrique Monguia ruled that Weston would avoid prison by entering a two-year mental health diversion program.
“Mr. Cage does suffer from an eligible mental health disorder. I’m satisfied it was a significant factor in the commission of the charged offenses,” the judge said. “It’s obvious he was suffering a breakdown at the time.”
Weston’s attorney, Michael A. Goldstein, had requested the diversion, explaining that his client had undergone intensive inpatient and outpatient treatment following the incident.
At the time of the assault, Weston “had changed doctors and had only just started a new medication.”
Since his arrest, Goldstein said Weston has remained sober and is doing significantly better. “He’s in a good head space, about to get married. He moved away from the location living in before and is definitely making progress," he added.
Fulton, while visibly emotional during the hearing, expressed support for the diversion program over prison but urged the court to require “another couple months of inpatient treatment".
She reiterated that her son has never apologized or taken responsibility for the attack. “I’ve been demonized for being a good mother,” she said. “Now I stand here, pleading for one thing: that he gets the help he deserves. Please help my son.”
Despite being prohibited from contacting her, Fulton sent a message to Weston through the court: “I love you, son.” To her former partner, she told TMZ: “Take care of my son, our son.”
During her address, the Boneyard actor looked “straight ahead” and did not “respond to her words.”
As part of the judge’s ruling, he must follow his treatment plan, stay out of legal trouble, and avoid harassing his alleged victims or possessing weapons for the next two years.
If he complies, the case may be dismissed by April 2027. A progress report hearing is scheduled for July.