Inset: Garrett S. Headrick (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Surprise, Arizona where Headrick attempted to kill his pregnant ex-wife (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old man from California will spend more than two decades behind bars in Arizona for brutally assaulting his pregnant ex-wife last year in front of her three young children.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren J. Granville on Wednesday ordered Garrett Scott Headrick to serve 21 years in a state correctional facility for the vicious attack he committed last year, authorities announced. The judge handed down the sentence after Headrick reached a deal and agreed to plead guilty to one count each of attempted second-degree intentional murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, and stalking resulting in a reasonable fear of death, records show.
Six additional charges levied against Headrick were dismissed as a result of the plea deal.
According to a news release from the county prosecutor’s office, Headrick on Oct. 19, 2024, got in his car and drove from California to the residence of his pregnant ex-wife in the area of Greenway and Dysart Roads in Surprise, Arizona.
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“As the victim and her three children were leaving for a soccer game, Headrick approached them with a metal bar, forced them back inside, and physically assaulted the victim in front of the children,” prosecutors wrote. “Once inside the residence, Headrick repeatedly struck and restrained the victim while threatening to kill her. At one point, he dragged her into the kitchen and armed himself with a knife while strangling her.”
Prosecutors previously described Headrick’s attack on his ex-wife as an “ambush” sprung on her and her kids in which he “dragged” the victim “by the hair into the house.” Authorities further said that during the attack, he repeatedly slapped, strangled, and attempted to stab her — all in front of the children.
Police officers responded to a 911 call to the home and, after forcing their way into the residence, said they found Headrick “on top of the victim with his hands around her throat and slamming her head into the ground.”
Officers intervened using nonlethal rounds and were able to stop the attack before placing Headrick under arrest inside the home.
The victim, who has not been identified, was transported to a local hospital for treatment of “significant cuts to her hands, scratch and cut marks around her neck, and a brain bleed on the back of her head.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell released a statement regarding the incident and subsequent arrest.
“Domestic violence is about power and control, and it leaves lasting scars on victims and families,” she said in the statement. “This case is a reminder that abusers will go to extreme lengths to intimidate and harm. My office, we will continue to stand with survivors, hold offenders fully accountable, and work every day to break the cycle of violence in our community.”
