Man Viciously Beats Wife In Stafford: Police

STAFFORD, VA—A man was arrested early Thursday after viciously beating his wife at their home on Old Forge Drive in south Stafford, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. Elijah Aguilar, 37, of Fredericksburg, was charged with abduction, malicious wounding, strangulation and domestic assault.

Around 1:15 a.m., police received a report of a suspicious person on Bellows Avenue. A caller had heard someone knocking at the front and back doors of a residence, and then saw a woman outside. When police arrived, they found the woman "crying hysterically." She had a cut on her head, bruising and bloody scratches on her neck, collar bone and corners of her lips, as well as a large bruise on her forehead.

She said she and her husband had been in an argument that escalated, after which she tried to leave the home. But Aguilar slammed the door shut and dragged her down to the basement, where he began choking her until she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she escaped through the basement door and tried to seek help. She told police her husband was probably still at the home and likely was armed, with her four kids still there, as well.

But when police went to the home, no one was there. Shortly before 4 a.m., he was found with the four children in a vehicle at the Fas Mart on 620 Cambridge Street. He was arrested without incident and the children were turned over to a family member. The woman was treated for her injuries at a nearby hospital.

Photo: Stafford County Sheriff's Office