SEATTLE - The suspect in a horrible attack at a University District apartment told police he was high on LSD when he assaulted his girlfriend Sunday afternoon, documents say.
Meanwhile, police detectives say they don't know if the woman will survive the attack. She is still undergoing treatment at Harborview Medical Center.
Officers responded to the scene, a home in the 2200 block of NE 50th Street, shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports of a disturbance there, said Detective Mark Jamieson of the Seattle police.
When police arrived, they could hear people arguing inside the residence. Officers knocked on the door but there was no answer, so they looked in a window and saw a man strangling a woman, according to police documents.
Officers forced open the door and pulled the man off the woman. Officers then began performing CPR on the woman, who was unresponsive, until medics arrived from the Seattle Fire Department. The woman was then rushed to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
According to police reports, the suspect told detectives that he and his girlfriend took LSD. He told police he became paranoid and thought she was plotting against him. He also admitted to punching her in the face and head, then strangling her with his hands, police say.
A neighbor, who doesn't want to be identified, told KOMO News he called 911 when he heard what sounded like a violent confrontation next door.
"The guy started pounding the wall and kicking stuff, and then I was like, 'Wow, I better call,' because he was continuously yelling like, 'I'm going to (expletive) kill you!'"
The suspect, identified in documents as Casey Henderson, 21, was arrested and booked him into the King County Jail for investigation of domestic violence assault, Jamieson said. He is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
Both he and the victim are students at the University of Washington.
