CANNELTON, W.Va. — A Fayette County man is behind bars accused of an attack on his girlfriend which left her in the hospital with severe injuries.
Fayette County deputies arrested James L. Craig Jr., 36 of Cannelton, over the weekend and charged him with felony unlawful wounding along with misdemeanor charges of domestic battery ad obstruction. The Fayette County 911 operator got a call from Craig’s father claiming his son was having a mental breakdown.
Inside the home, Craig is alleged to have beaten his girlfriend, choked her to unconsciousness and attempted to set her on fire before she escaped to a neighbor’s house and got a ride to the hospital.
“He doused her with some kind of flammable liquid, chocked her, beat her, and struck her several times with a wrench,” said Fayette County Chief Deputy Rod Perdue. “She advised she escaped through a window, then rain away to seek the assistance of other residences.”
When deputies arrived at Craig’s home in Cannelton, Montgomery police were already attending to the victim at Montgomery General Hospital. Craig became combative with deputies as he was taken into custody. He’s now in the Southern Regional Jail.
The condition of the victim hasn’t been released.