A Texas man who was wanted to face a charge of domestic battery and had a protective order against him confined his estranged girlfriend to a Greenwood hotel room and beat her repeatedly on Sunday, police said.
Christopher Knoerr, 35, 213 S. Skyline Court, Cresson, Texas, was arrested on charges of domestic battery, criminal confinement, strangulation and failure to appear — all felonies — and is being held at the Johnson County jail without bond.
Knoerr held the victim in a hotel room on East Main Street all day on Sunday, according to a Greenwood police report. She eventually escaped with her dog and asked hotel staff to call police because Knoerr had taken all of her belongings and would not let her back into their hotel room, the report said.
The victim wanted hotel staff to call police so she could gather her belongings, and because she had been attacked, they told police.
Staff said they saw the two guests get into an altercation the night before, the report said.
The victim told police Knoerr had attacked her repeatedly throughout the day, and had been holding her against her will in the hotel room, according to the report.
She said Knoerr held her down on the bed, put a pillow over the top of her head and punched her through the pillow. He would not let her call police, and would stand in her way or push her down when she tried to leave, the report said.
Knoerr eventually locked himself in the bathroom when she escaped and ran downstairs, the victim said.
She had a black eye, redness and swelling underneath her other eye, a large contusion on her head, and redness and scratch marks on her neck, according to the report.
Knoerr told police the two had been fighting all day, and that the victim had attacked him, the report said.
Police did not find any evidence of injuries on Knoerr, they said.
Police discovered Knoerr had a local warrant for domestic battery, and a protective order had been delivered to him earlier that day.
Later at the hospital, the victim told police Knoerr had also choked her to the point that she couldn’t breathe and may have lost consciousness, according to the report. She said he had punched her several times and "boxed her ears," which caused severe ringing, the report said.
