Jehovah's Witness husband allegedly wages holy war on Catholic wife

BY JOURNAL TIMES STAFF

Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:42 PM CST

RACINE — A man allegedly threatened to injure and kill his wife after an all-day argument over religion.

The man, 30, is charged with substantial battery, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment and intimidating a witness. If convicted, he could face up to $40,000 in fines and 35 years imprisonment. The Journal Times is not naming the man to protect the identity of his wife and daughter.

According to court records:

Officers were sent to a 21st Street home at 8:23 p.m. Jan. 13, where they found the victim visibly upset and shaken. She said she and her husband had been arguing all day, since she refused to go to a Jehovah’s Witness meeting that morning.

The woman said her husband is a Jehovah’s Witness while she is Catholic. She said he felt she should practice the same religion he does, and that she was lying to their daughter by allowing her to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter.

Starting that evening, the woman said their fight escalated. She said her husband has martial arts experience and has told her that he could “punch through steel if he wanted to.”

She said her husband strangled her until she blacked out, held a knife to her throat and threatened to cut her hand off and to kill her.

At one point, the woman said her husband handed her the phone and pushed 9-1, telling her to push the last number to see what would happen. When she pushed the final 1, her husband threw the phone, breaking it apart. She was once able to run out the front door, but her husband caught her and dragged her back inside.

Eventually, the woman said her husband got some alcohol from the refrigerator and told her he was going to get drunk and jump in Lake Michigan before driving away. Once the woman knew he was gone she grabbed her daughter and went to a neighbor’s house to call police.

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