A man accused of strangling his girlfriend and breaking her belongings on Tuesday after she confronted him about cheating on her has been arrested and charged in Lewis County Superior Court.
Aaron Michael Hell, 37, of Morton, was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23, for second-degree assault, domestic violence; interfering with domestic violence reporting, domestic violence; and third-degree malicious mischief, domestic violence. Charges were formally filed on Wednesday, July 24.
Bail is set at $25,000.
The arrest came after the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a residence on Temple Road in Morton, where a woman reported seeing Farris leave his girlfriend’s residence, a converted shop on the property, “very fast,” according to court documents. The reporting party, who lived in another building on the property, went to check on Hell’s girlfriend and “saw that numerous items in the shop were damaged and (the victim) had red marks around her neck,” according to court documents.
When questioned, the victim reported Hell “became mad after she confronted him about cheating on her” and said Hell “threw multiple objects around the shop, breaking them.” When the victim told him she was going to call 911, Hell allegedly “took her phone and threw it into a field” then “grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her,” according to court documents.
A responding deputy took photos of the injuries on the victim’s neck.
A Washington State Patrol trooper located Hell driving north on Interstate 5 in King County and detained him, according to court documents.
When questioned, Hell allegedly “admitted to breaking items but claimed they were his things,” said “he was in an argument with (the victim) about social media posts and ‘tension over other girls’” and “admitted to pushing (the victim) but denied strangling her.” He allegedly “did say he ‘made a mistake’ by what he did,” according to court documents.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1.
A no-contact order protecting the victim is in place.
