By the time deputies arrived at the Clatskanie, Ore., home on Tuesday night, the woman’s husband had fled.
And after what he’d done that day, Jeremiah D. Crothers, 34, had reason to run, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday morning, Crothers had strangled his infant son by covering the 7-month-old child’s mouth and nose for so long that his extremities became blue, court documents reviewed by KATU said. It was only when Crothers’ wife took a frying pan to his head that he let go of their child, the documents said.
Then, on Tuesday night, when Crothers’ wife was making fried chicken in their kitchen, Crothers accused his wife of not seasoning the food properly, court documents said. Moments later Crothers took his wife’s hand and put it into the boiling frying oil, according to the sheriff’s office.
The woman tried to put her hand under cool water after the assault, court documents said, but her husband tried to prevent her and told her to stop “playing the victim,” the Oregonian reports
But when deputies got to the home at 8 p.m., Crothers had already left the scene. Authorities had been called to the home by a domestic violence advocate, the sheriff’s office said.
When the wife answered the door for the sheriff’s deputies who responded, she was armed with a knife, the Oregonian reports — worried her husband would be the one at the door, court documents said.
The woman had signs of burns on her hands, the sheriff’s office said, while the child displayed signs of strangulation. The wife told deputies the abuse had gone on for weeks, the Oregonian reports. On Sunday, she told authorities, Crothers had thrown her against a wall as she cradled their infant son.
Later Tuesday night, authorities hunted Crothers down at his workplace in St. Helens, Ore., around midnight, according to the sheriff’s office.
Crothers was arrested on charges of attempted murder, strangulation, domestic violence, assault, coercion and attempted assault.
The allegations in support of this arrest are alarming,” Sheriff Jeff Dickerson said in a statement. “Fortunately, we were able to find the suspect in a timely manner and put a stop to the violence, and give this mom and child a chance to survive.”
Crothers’ bail has been set at $217,750, the sheriff’s office said. He was arraigned in court Wednesday morning.
Police took the woman to an undisclosed location where she would be safe, the Oregonian reports, while the child was taken to the hospital to be treated.
Husband said wife didn’t season fried chicken. He used boiling oil to punish her, cops say
