By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Stillwater man accused of beating his girlfriend with a frying pan on her head, back and legs, as well as choking her, has been jailed on $10,000 bail pending his arraignment this afternoon on the two-count felony charge.
If convicted of both counts of domestic violence, William Don Scouten, 38, could be imprisoned for as long as 13 years, according to the charge filed by prosecutor Debra Vincent last week.
The defendant’s girlfriend said, “after she lost consciousness and came to, William was holding her and telling her how much he loved her,” Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Secrest wrote in an affidavit.
She said, “William made her go to bed with him then and would not let her leave. (She) said William fell asleep and she was able to sneak out of the apartment when her alarm went off because she had to go to work,” the affidavit alleged.
When the deputy spoke to the victim at about 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, she said she had been beaten and strangled by her boyfriend sometime between 11 p.m. on Aug. 7 and 8 a.m. on Aug. 8 at her apartment in rural Stillwater, the affidavit alleged.
“Her head still hurt badly and she had been dizzy and unstable on her feet all day at work…she was unstable on her feet and complained of light sensitivity,” the affidavit said. “When I asked (her) why she was limping, she advised it was because William had stomped on her leg,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“Due to the blow to (her) head, being strangled to unconsciousness, and her current unsteadiness on her feet, I had dispatch start Life Net,” to examine the woman, who was later transported to the Stillwater Medical Center Emergency Room for evaluation, the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
When the deputy performed a domestic violence lethality screen on her before she was taken to the hospital, she “expressed a fear of William killing her,” the affidavit alleged.
Scouten was arrested at 12:37 a.m. on Aug. 9 at his residence, the affidavit said
“I told William that I was there because (his girlfriend) told me William had beaten her and she had injuries to corroborate her story. William acted like he was surprised by this…I asked William to be honest with me, and he changed his story to the fact he was not himself when (she) woke him up,” the affidavit alleged.
On the kitchen stove, the smaller skillet “was misshapen and had several dents on the bottom and sides,” the affidavit said.
After his arrest, the defendant was again interviewed in the Payne County Jail, the affidavit said.
“William kept saying he blacked out and could not remember exactly what had happened. William stated the last thing he remembered was flipping over a bed side table, and (his girlfriend) telling him to wake up. William also said he grabbed (her) by the arms tightly in an attempt to hurt her and made her sit on the couch,” the affidavit alleged.
“I explained to William the evidence that was against him. When I explained the acts with the skillet, William began to cry. When I asked if the injuries and actions I was describing sounded familiar to him, he just (said) ‘stupid’ while gesturing at himself.
“The only time William objected to what I was describing was when I said he did not stop choking (her) until she lost consciousness. William stated he and (his girlfriend) talked all night and she never lost consciousness. William also denied telling (her) she could not leave, but not the fact he had stood on her neck with his foot,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I showed William the pictures of the skillet. William said he wasn’t saying he didn’t do it, just that he couldn’t remember doing it. William agreed to fill out a written statement. In it, William wrote that he blacked out and hit,” his girlfriend, the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
The defendant’s girlfriend said he had struck her with the skillet across her left temple and left side of her face, then continued to beat her with the pan on her lower back and legs, the affidavit alleged. Her left ear was red and swollen so much that it stuck out away from her head, the affidavit said.
Her left cheek was swollen; she had multiple bruises on her lower back, legs and arms, the affidavit said. Her neck had bruising and what appeared to be ligature marks from fingers on the left side, the affidavit said. She said, “William threw her to the ground and then stood on her neck with his foot,” the affidavit alleged.
She said “she was scared she would die and he kept squeezing and releasing repeatedly until she lost consciousness at one point,” the affidavit alleged.
***
