Casper Man Arrested for Allegedly Strangling, Assaulting Woman
A Casper man has been arrested on allegations that he strangled and beat his girlfriend in an unprovoked attack on Sunday night.
Robert D. Martin, 36, was booked into jail on charges of strangulation of a household member and aggravated assault.
Charging papers say a Casper police officer went to Wyoming Medical Center shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday for a report of a woman who had been assaulted by her boyfriend.
The victim told the officer that she was visiting her boyfriend -- Martin -- and had eaten dinner with him at The Fort. After dinner, they drank heavily at the bar.
The pair then left in Martin's blue Toyota Tundra, and everything was fine until, as Martin was pulling out of the parking lot, he "just blew up."
Martin, the victim told police, started to hit her in the face, calling her a "whore" and a "slut." The victim said Martin hit her so hard that her head kept bouncing off the window.
Then, the victim said, Martin started to strangle her. She hit Martin in the face in order to stop the assault.
According to the victim's statement to police, Martin told her he was going to take her someplace where no one would find her, and kill her. He also allegedly threatened to go home and kill the victim's cat, after killing her.
After about four or five minutes of driving, the victim said, Martin slowed nearly to a complete stop, and the victim got out of the pickup. She stood in the middle of the road to try to get help, using her sweatshirt to step the bleeding from her nose and lips.
Several vehicles passed by before an unknown man stopped, picked up the victim and took her to the hospital.
The victim said she and Martin had not argued prior to the alleged assault. She said Martin, at one point, had strangled her for 30 seconds to one minute. She had not lost consciousness, but experienced "tunnel vision" while being strangled, meaning she had started to black out, but did not.
The victim told police she "thought he was going to f------ kill me."
According to the police affidavit, the victim reported that Martin had been abusive in the past, and on one occasion near Christmas, he had forced her to perform a sex act on him.
The pair had been dating for about three years, and the victim left him for about a month, but got back together with him because she thought he had changed. She said Martin had been "a psycho" ever since he left his wife.
The officer noted numerous injuries to the victim including multiple marks and bruises on her face and neck, a developing black eye, a bruised and swollen jaw, dried blood on her nose and lips as well as bite marks on her lips. All the injuries appeared to be fresh, the officer noted.
After a representative from victim services responded and set the victim up with a safe place to stay for the night, the officer left the hospital and went to an address on South Kenwood in an effort to contact Martin.
A blue truck parked in front of the house was registered to Martin, and the officer saw blood on the passenger-side window as well as on the interior of the passenger-side door, which would be consistent with the victim's statement.
The officer knocked on the front door of the home, but no one answered. Due to the blood in the truck, the officer had it towed pending a search warrant.
Police later returned to Martin's home and arrested him.