EDMONDS — An Edmonds police officer was 11 hours into a graveyard shift Tuesday morning when he heard screams nearby.
Officer Patrick Clark followed the sounds and found a woman who had been assaulted by her boyfriend repeatedly on multiple days.
The incident unfolded at 4:45 a.m. near the intersection of 219th Street SW and 76th Avenue West.
A 36-year-old Oregon man was found nearby and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of kidnapping, domestic-violence assault and drug possession, according to the Edmonds Police Department. He is scheduled for a bail hearing Wednesday.
The couple had been dating about three months, Edmonds police Sgt. Josh McClure said. The woman, 27, lives in Seattle but has family in the Edmonds area.
“Something happened Sunday that initiated this whole chain of events,” McClure said.
At some point Sunday, the man kicked the woman out of his car near Swedish/Edmonds hospital. He found her after she was released from the hospital and threatened to hurt her family if she left again.
The woman had “obvious injuries to her arm and strangulation marks on her neck,” McClure said. She had been punched, shocked with a stun gun, strangled and cut with a knife.
Nearly half of domestic-violence homicides happen as the victim of abuse is leaving or trying to leave the relationship, according to state data.
Clark, who has been on the force for three years, had his windows down when he heard the screams, McClure said.
“That would have been really easy to miss if you’re driving around with the windows up and the heat cranked,” McClure said. “For him to remain that vigilant and that aware that late into his shift, that speaks really highly about his dedication and his service.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
Domestic violence prevention resources
DVS Crisis Line: 425-252-2873
National Teen Dating Abuse Line: 866-331-9474 or visit www.loveisrespect.org to chat online.
DVS of Snohomish County: 425-252-2873
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