TACOMA — A soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord is accused of strangling and beating his girlfriend with a vacuum cleaner because she refused to have sex.
The Pierce County prosecutor charged Refugio Sanchez, 32, with second-degree murder in the death Tuesday of Angela Cannizzio at their Lakewood home. The medical examiner determined she died of strangulation with trauma to the head. She leaves behind two children, ages 2 and 13.
Sanchez was arraigned Thursday and remains jailed on $1 million bail.
KOMO reports Sanchez told police he has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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