Two bloodied, one charged after domestic violence incident in Myrtle Beach: report
A man punched a woman in the face multiple times and fell onto a coffee table, leaving both bloodied when police arrived after a 911 hangup in Myrtle Beach, according to an incident report.
Police responded to the Calypso Inn at 101 Flagg Street at 7:25 p.m. Friday for a 911 hangup in which dispatchers said they heard a woman screaming for help. There, officers came into contact with a pair of juvenile females who said they heard someone “dying” in a room before pointing toward the end of the building, the report states.
Officers arrived at the unit’s door, which was open, and found the offender — later identified as 35-year-old Michael Patrick Dowd — sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to police while covered in blood and naked, according to the report. Police say they then saw the victim on her knees in front of Dowd with blood on her face and arms. They noted she was crying and Dowd was sitting silent.
The woman then began screaming, saying Dowd had punched her in the face six times, the report states.
Police separated the two and one officer treated a cut on Dowd’s head while asking what happened. Dowd initially refused to answer the officer, who then detained him based on the woman’s accusations.
Both were taken to the hospital, where officers gathered further details from the victim. She told police the two of them — who had been dating for five or six years and living together the majority of that time — had been drinking all day in the room. The victim said she was sitting on the couch while Dowd was on the floor in a drunken sleep. according to the report.
The victim said Dowd then woke up and punched her in the face six times while she pleaded for her life, police say. Dowd reportedly then slapped her. The victim told police that Dowd did not appear to be injured or bleeding during the assault, adding that after she attempted to call 911 she turned around and saw him sitting on the bed bleeding.
Officers noted the room was littered with broken glass, a broken coffee table and other items.
Dowd told officers that the victim pushed him down when he told her he found out she was cheating, the report states. Dowd, who had the cut to his head and bruising on his abdomen, said he fell into the coffee table, officers noted. Dowd initially denied any physical interaction with the victim before saying he’d pushed her down on the bed once, according to the report.
With evidence supporting the victim’s claims and inconsistencies in Dowd’s story, officers put the man under arrest and charged him with second-degree domestic violence. Police noted Dowd had been convicted of domestic violence earlier this year.
