A 41-year-old Green River man is accused of threatening his wife and to “saw her head off” during a violent domestic attack during which he also broke the wrist of their 12-year-old son when he tried to defend his mother.
Travis Scott Warren now faces a stack of serious felony charges that could put him behind bars for decades. Child abuse and aggravated assault charges against Warren were filed in Sweetwater County District Court on Friday for the March incident.
Warren had waived a preliminary hearing and his bond was reduced from $75,000 cash or corporate surety to $20,000. He remains in the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
If convicted on all eight charges he faces, court records indicate Warren could face more than 40 years in prison.
‘There Was A Lot Of Fighting’
When police first responded to Warren’s home March 7, he told officers his wife had “kicked him in the head multiple times” and that he was “hurt,” according to court records.
He was taken to the hospital, and investigators soon learned that Warren's 12-year-old son was already there.
The Wyoming Department of Family Services reported that the boy’s wrist was broken, according to an affidavit of probable filed in his case.
When officers interviewed the child, he described a home filled with escalating violence, the affidavit says. He told investigators there had been “a lot of fighting between his parents” and that he had seen his father hit his mother with an olive oil bottle.
The boy said the situation boiled over that night while his parents were arguing in the kitchen when his father grabbed a knife off the counter and started advancing toward his mother.
According to the affidavit, the child said he stepped in to protect the woman. He knocked the knife from his father’s hand and grabbed him from behind.
“There was a struggle and Travis pulled their son off of him, and their son felt something pop in his wrist,” the affidavit states.
The boy’s mother later confirmed his account, telling investigators her son had tried to protect her.
She told police the argument had turned frightening when Warren allegedly threatened her life, the affidavit says. She said he told her numerous times that he was going to kill.
When he grabbed the knife — which she described as a steak knife — she believed he was trying to intimidate her.
‘Saw Her Head Off’
Investigators say the violence didn’t stop there.
The mother told officers Warren reportedly tried to hit her with an olive oil bottle, and detectives were shown olive oil stains on her sweatshirt, according to the affidavit. She said the confrontation moved into the bathroom, where Warren punched her in the head.
She also remembered being struck with a wire toilet paper dispenser because it stung.
Then, she told investigators, Warren made an even more chilling threat, the affidavit says. He told her he was going to “saw her head off” with a knife in the bathtub.
The woman also reported that he tried to “spear” her with a red broom. Court records do not explain how she was ultimately able to get away.
Facing Eight Charges
Warren is now facing one count of aggravated child abuse, three charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and four of domestic battery.
If convicted on all charges, he faces the possibility of more than four decades in prison.
An arraignment in Sweetwater County District Court will be set at a later date where Warren is expected to make a plea. He is represented by attorney Gary Blake Arnell Jr.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
