Docs: Muncie man strangled, beat pregnant girlfriend with wooden club

MUNCIE, Ind. –Police have arrested a man accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend with a wooden club after strangling her during an altercation in Muncie last week.

The investigation began when police were called on May 23 to the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in response to a reported battery. Officers arrived and spoke with the victim, who said that her boyfriend, who police identified as 32-year-old Joshua Elmore, had allegedly battered her the day before.

According to court documents, the incident occurred after Elmore returned to their home in the 2500 block of W. Memorial Drive. The woman said Elmore began shouting at her and asking who had been in the house with her while he was gone.

Elmore reportedly believed the victim was cheating on him because he had observed a wash cloth in the bath. Court documents indicate that Elmore allegedly began to choke the victim, causing her to nearly lose consciousness. The woman recalled not being able to breathe.

During this altercation, the woman said she tried to fight back by grabbing a wooden club and striking Elmore on the head. She attempted to strike him again before Elmore managed to take control of the wooden club. He then proceeded to allegedly strike the woman in the back of her head with the club, court documents said.

While the woman was lying on the ground, Elmore allegedly kicked and stomped on her ribs and back area before hitting her with a closed fist on the right side of her face. Elmore is also accused of allegedly biting the woman near her left eye, causing a laceration.

After the incident, the woman told police that they went to a relative’s home where he called her a “whore” and “slut,” according to court documents. The woman reportedly left the home and was waiting near a bus stop when two bystanders approached and offered to help her. The two bystanders brought the woman to the emergency room, where she was transferred to the intensive care unit.

After police finished conducting their interview with the woman, hospital staff shared the full extent of her injuries. Court documents noted that the woman suffered multiple broken ribs, a laceration to her spleen and kidney, “severe” bruising in her right eye and a laceration on her left eye.

The woman was also told by hospital staff that she was 16 weeks pregnant. She told police that she did not know anything about the pregnancy.

Elmore was placed under arrest and transported to the Delaware County Jail, where he faces the following preliminary charges:

• Battery (Level 3 Felony)
• Strangulation (Level 2 Felony)
• Domestic Battery with a Deadly Weapon (Level 5 Felony)
• Domestic Battery (Level 6 Felony)