Background: Logan Willis signs a document while under police supervision after being arrested for attempted murder (WSAZ/YouTube). Inset: Logan Willis (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility).
A West Virginia man allegedly severely beat his girlfriend in the late stages of her pregnancy, brought her to the woods, left her for dead, and then called law enforcement to let them know.
Logan Mark Willis, 21, of Oak Hill, has been charged with attempted murder, strangulation, and malicious assault, according to police.
Willis was arrested on Friday in Jackson County.
The defendant is alleged to have, on that day, beaten his girlfriend in his car, dragged her into a nearby wooded area, and left her there.
Willis called 911 himself from a gas station to report the crime, telling a dispatcher that he thought he had killed his girlfriend, according to Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies speaking with West Virginia MetroNews.
But she was not dead.
The victim, who has not been named, is said to have been in critical condition as of Friday evening.
The woman was “observed to have numerous serious injuries consistent with a life-altering beating,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by Huntington-based NBC affiliate WSAZ.
Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger reportedly said the deputies found the victim by following a trail of blood. While Willis allegedly stated on the 911 call that his girlfriend had stopped breathing, deputies found her still alive.
Signs of strangulation were said to have been apparent.
When the suspect — later revealed to be Willis — made the call to 911, he had his and the victim’s other child with him, according to Charleston-based ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS.
“In his own words, he ‘beat her until she quit breathing,”” Mellinger said, according to the TV station. The sheriff added, regarding the unborn child, “It’s as much of an issue making sure the baby survives as her.”
The defendant is currently being held at the South Central Regional Jail outside Charleston on $500,000 bond.
