Golden Valley Man Charged with Strangling, Beating Wife

Christopher Thomas Parker, of Golden Valley, was charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Authorities say Parker is facing possible additional charges of false imprisonment pending an investigation.

According to the criminal complaint signed by Golden Valley Police Sgt. Dennis Arons:

Police were called to Duluth and Regent avenues just before 10 p.m. July 30 on a report of a woman trying to escape from a Buick LeSabre. While police were in the area, they received another report of a woman being “viciously assaulted” by her husband a few blocks away from the initial call.

Officers found the victim at a neighbor’s house. She had numerous injuries and was bleeding from her mouth. Her blood was on the floor of the house, according to the complaint.

The woman told police that she was at work in Minneapolis that evening when Parker showed up about 9 p.m., grabbed her by the throat and demanded that she leave with him. She refused to leave, but Parker grabbed her arm and forced her out of the building and into his car, she said.

The woman said she tried repeatedly to get out of the car as Parker drove her home. She called 911 on her cell phone, but Parker grabbed the phone from her, stopped the car and began speaking to the dispatcher, she said.

While Parker was out of the car, the woman moved into the driver’s seat and sped away. She arrived home and ran inside, locking all the doors. According to the complaint, Parker showed up and got into the house through a back window.

Parker came inside and punched her repeatedly in the head before grabbing her by the throat and squeezing until she lost consciousness, the woman told police. When she woke up, she  fled the house and went to a neighbor’s home, where she called 911.

The woman told officers that she suffers from a medical condition that causes seizures, and that she believed Parker punched her with the intention of bringing on a seizure. She was taken to a hospital, where doctors noted “deep, dark bruises” on her throat and a number of bumps and bruises on her head.

While the victim was at the hospital, Parker called her and told her that police were looking for him, and he was hiding from them in a tree, according to the complaint. Parker was located and arrested.

Parker admitted that he had gone to the woman’s place of employment and that he was angry, but he claimed that she went with him voluntarily, according to the complaint. He said she tried to get out of the car while he was driving, swearing at him and telling him to let her out, and that he grabbed her head and throat to keep her from leaving, the complaint charges.

Parker has an extensive criminal record which includes a conviction for second-degree burglary in March and an October 2011 conviction for domestic assault of the same victim, for which he is on probation. He also has a pending felony case charging him with escape from custody.

Parker, whom authorities say may face kidnapping charges pending their investigation, remains in the Hennepin County Jail on an $80,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Sept. 6 in Hennepin County District Court.