WINTER HAVEN – Christmas was not an occasion for brotherly love between the Forte brothers.

James Forte, 59, of Winter Haven was being held without bail Tuesday in the Polk County Jail on charges of second-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery domestic violence and tampering with a victim in connection with a fight with his brother John Forte, 62.

A statement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office gave the following account of events leading to the arrest:

Deputies were called to the Forte residence in Winter Haven about 10:30 a.m. Friday on a report of a domestic altercation.

The brothers resided together in a single-room residence with two beds and a bath. The report did not give the address.

During the altercation, deputies said, James Forte told his brother, “I'll beat the ----- out of you with my cane” and proceeded to strike him multiple times on the head and body.

The report said John Forte begged his brother to stop and tried to call for help on his cell phone, but James Forte reacted by telling his brother to “give me the phone (or) I'm going to kill you.”

James Forte seized the phone, the basis for the victim-tampering charge.

When John Forte began crawling toward the door, his brother grabbed a serrated steak knife and began stabbing him in the head and neck, the report said. John Forte suffered six lacerations on his face and two on his neck, one was below his right ear and the throat.

First responders took John Forte to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he was in stable condition.

The report said James Forte admitted to attacking his brother, asking deputies, “He's dead, ain't he?” When told John Forte was still alive, his brother responded, “Damn.”

When a deputy asked him why he would say that, he replied, “Because he's supposed to be dead.” The deputy followed up, asking James Forte whether he wanted his brother to die, and he responded, “yes,” the report said.

According to jail records, James Forte has local arrests dating to 1996 on charges including passing bad checks, battery and failure to register as a sex offender.

Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-401-6980.