A West Virginia man is accused of severely beating his girlfriend in the final stages of her pregnancy, taking her to the woods, abandoning her for dead, and then calling police to report it.
Logan Mark Willis, 21, of Oak Hill, is charged with attempted murder, strangulation, and malicious assault, according to police.
Willis was arrested Friday in Jackson County.
On that day, the defendant is accused of beating his girlfriend in his car before dragging her into a nearby wooded area and abandoning her.
Willis called 911 from a gas station to report the crime, telling the dispatcher that he believed he had killed his girlfriend, according to Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies who spoke with West Virginia MetroNews.
However, she was not dead.
The victim, who has not been identified, was said to be in critical condition as of Friday evening.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Huntington-based NBC affiliate WSAZ, the woman sustained “numerous serious injuries consistent with a life-altering beating.”
According to Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger, deputies discovered the victim after following a blood trail. Willis allegedly stated on the 911 call that his girlfriend had stopped breathing, but deputies discovered she was still alive.
Strangulation signs were said to be obvious.
According to Charleston-based ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS, the suspect, later identified as Willis, was with his and the victim’s other child when he called 911.
“In his own words, he ‘beat her until she quit breathing,'” Mellinger told the television station. Regarding the unborn child, the sheriff added, “It’s as important to ensure the baby’s survival as it is for her.”
The defendant is currently being held in the South Central Regional Jail outside Charleston on a $500,000 bond.
