Afraid to leave, woman allegedly strangled at Motel 6

Published 1:30 am Monday, September 2, 2019

EVERETT — The woman had the “worst strangulation injuries” the deputy had ever seen.

She had been staying at a Motel 6 on 128th Street SW near Everett with a 37-year-old man she’d been dating for at least 10 years and with whom she’d had two children. They had been drinking and smoking marijuana, according to an arrest report filed in Everett District Court.

When deputies arrived shortly after midnight on Aug. 22, they found the man sitting on the ground, his hand bleeding and a nearby window broken. He said the woman had locked him out and he wanted back inside.

Inside the room, a deputy introduced himself to the woman. She “did not immediately respond and instead curled herself into as small a size as she could” while sitting on the chair, the deputy wrote. Her neck appeared discolored, with several dark purple and blue bruises.

When she finally spoke, her voice was hoarse and quiet and she used short sentences, possibly the result of her injuries, the deputy wrote.

The woman told deputies that the man wouldn’t let her leave the room. He allegedly put a pillow over her head and choked her, she reportedly said, to the point that she lost consciousness.

When she came to, the man allegedly was still strangling her.

“I thought he was trying to kill me,” the woman told a deputy. “He was so full of rage.”

He eventually let her go and fell asleep.

Throughout the night, he “alternated between sleeping, arguing with her, or following her around the room as she tried to get away from him,” court papers say.

The woman found seclusion in the bathroom, but was afraid to leave, for fear he would hurt her more. The man broke her cellphone and unplugged the land line, according to the report.

She played along, she said, until he went outside for a cigarette. She shoved the door shut and locked it. She plugged in the motel phone and called 911 as he pounded on the door and window.

The man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment, interfering with reporting of domestic violence and third-degree malicious mischief. There also was a $5,000 warrant for his arrest in relation to a hit and run in south Snohomish County.

He remained in jail Friday with bail set at $250,000.

The woman requested a protection order against him. She thanked the deputy and said she was “happy to be alive.”

Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.

To get help

If you or someone you know needs help with abuse involving a family member or intimate partner, contact Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County’s 24-hour confidential hotline at 425-252-2873.