Goshen County authorities are looking for a 26-year-old man accused of disfiguring his girlfriend by pistol-whipping her and kicking her chest so hard she had to be intubated.
Andrew Atkinson, 26, had not been caught as of Wednesday after a warrant for his arrest was filed Monday, the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office told Cowboy State Daily.
The investigation started at about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 4, when Sheriff Kory Fleenor received a call from a social servces worker who said Atkinson’s ex-girlfriend had been the victim of a domestic incident, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed Monday.
The woman and her child were both taken to the Banner Health emergency room in Wheatland, Wyoming. But the woman was later transferred to a different hospital for a higher level of care. A Cheyenne Police Department officer interviewed her along with Goshen County Sheriff’s Lt. Herb Irons, the document says.
Started In The Car
The woman said that she and Atkinson were at a party the evening before at Atkinson’s mother’s home in Lingle.
She and Atkinson left the home at about 8 p.m. in a 2023 white Toyota Corolla Cross, with Atkinson driving, and the woman and her child together in the back seat, says the affidavit.
They soon arrived at Ty’s Pit Stop in Lingle. Atkinson parked the vehicle briefly, and he reportedly started having a verbal argument with the woman.
Then Atkinson started pulling the woman’s hair and yanking her around, the document alleges.
The pair “appeared to” leave the business about five minutes later and turned southbound onto Wyoming Highway 156, the document says. It is unclear if this detail is related from camera footage or other evidence.
The affidavit says Atkinson pulled the car over in a field a short while later and started punching the woman in the face multiple times, then smacked her head with a 9 mm Glock handgun until she lost consciousness.
He strangled her neck with his hands for about 10 seconds, causing her to lose consciousness yet again, the document alleges.
When she regained consciousness, she reportedly picked up her child, exited the vehicle and tried to run north toward a barn.
Fled With Child
She told police she was scared Atkinson was going to kill her. She tripped twice while running, and Atkinson caught up to her, the document says.
He took their child and started to walk back toward the parked vehicle. The woman ran back toward him, and he allowed her to hold the child again, the document indicates, though the child’s name is redacted.
At that moment, Atkinson shoved the woman and the child, causing them both to fall to the ground, the affidavit says.
The document says the woman walked back to the car and the trio rode away with Atkinson driving.
He drove to the 7800 block of Road 27 where he again stopped the vehicle and made the woman get out. Then he started to punch and kick her in the face and chest area as she lay on the ground, says the affidavit.
He got into the vehicle and left, headed southbound on Road 27.
The woman stayed on the ground for about 20 seconds until she was sure Atkinson had gone, then she got up and ran into a corn field to the west, making it back to the highway.
The affidavit doesn’t say whether the woman’s child was with her all along, but it says Atkinson’s mother intercepted them both and took them both to the emergency room.
Whole Body Bruised And Cut
The woman sustained a punctured or collapsed lung. Her entire body was bruised and cut, including her feet, the document says. She also had two black eyes, nearly swollen shut.
The document says the woman’s face was bruised with hematomas and appeared disfigured. She received 15 staples and four sutures to her head from being pistol whipped, says the affidavit.
Medical personnel put a chest tube into the woman’s lung, a result of being kicked in the chest, reportedly.
The child had lacerations to her forehead that were treated and documented, the affidavit says.
The Tally
Atkinson is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of strangling a household member and a fourth count of child abuse, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
