A 27-year-old Wisconsin Dells man faces multiple charges, including first-degree attempted intentional homicide, after he was accused of tried to drown a woman by holding her head under a running bathtub faucet.
Justin M. Wagner remained in the Columbia County Jail Monday under $10,000 cash bond, after he made an initial video appearance in Columbia County Circuit Court to face charges of first-degree attempted intentional homicide (a class B felony), strangulation and suffocation (a class H felony), misdemeanor battery (a class A misdemeanor) and disorderly conduct (a class B misdemeanor), all alleged to have stemmed from domestic abuse.
If convicted of all charges, Wagner could be sentenced to almost 67 years in prison.
The criminal complaint, filed Monday in Columbia County Circuit Court, said police were dispatched to a Wisconsin Dells residence at about 3:16 a.m. Sunday, where they met with the alleged victim and a neighbor.
The woman told police she and Wagner had gone out together to various bars Saturday night, and had gotten into an argument at a Lake Delton bar that resulted in police contact early Sunday morning.
Later, Wagner allegedly grabbed the victim by the neck, dragged her into a bathroom and said he was going to kill her. She told police he threw the upper part of her body into the bathtub and turned on the water, holding her face, nose and mouth under the running faucet.
One of the woman’s children reportedly walked in and called out, “Mom,” and Wagner allegedly released enough pressure on the woman so that she could get away from him.
The woman took her two children to the home of a neighbor, who called 911.
During the initial appearance Monday, Assistant District Attorney Brenda Yaskal asked for a “high” cash bond because the accusations against Wagner point to “an extremely violent offense.”
Judge W. Andrew Voigt set bail at $10,000 cash, and included conditions of absolute sobriety and no contact with the victim, her children or the neighbor.
Wagner is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on March 13, and is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on March 26. wiscnews