Boyfriend accused woman of cheating and stomped on her with steel-toed boots, feds say
A man will serve nearly four years in federal prison after he violently beat his girlfriend, kicking her while wearing steel-toed boots, before she escaped from a window at his Washington home, according to prosecutors.
Nicholas Dean Elwell accused her of cheating in June 2023 and told authorities he became “jealous when he saw her with another man,” court documents say.
Elwell, 40, of Wapato, was sentenced to 46 months in prison on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington said in a July 11 news release.
His federal public defender didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 12.
“I want to commend the courage of the victim in this case for coming forward and engaging with law enforcement to hold her abuser accountable,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said in a statement.
On June 3, 2023, Elwell asked his girlfriend, a member of the Yakama Nation, to come over to his house and he started beating her after she arrived, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
“Elwell accused the victim of cheating on (him) and became upset,” prosecutors said.
He repeatedly kicked the woman’s face and torso with his steel-toed boots, grabbed her hair and repeatedly punched her, according to prosecutors, who said he also stomped on her stomach.
“His actions caused her to have difficulty breathing, rendered her unconscious for an undetermined amount of time, and left her unable to eat for a week due to stomach pain,” the sentencing memo says.
After she escaped by climbing out of a bathroom window, according to prosecutors, authorities responded and saw her swollen face, an eye nearly swollen shut and blood on her lips, prosecutors said.
Elwell was found with dried blood on his clothes, on one of his boots and bed sheets, according to prosecutors.
Before the assault, he previously served time in federal prison in connection with aggravated sexual abuse and attempted aggravated sexual abuse, the sentencing memo says.
“He still chose to severely hurt another victim” and has shown “he holds little respect for the law,” prosecutors wrote.
Alex B. Hernandez, his federal public defender, wrote in a sentencing memorandum on Elwell’s behalf that “is remorseful for his actions.”
“Mr. Elwell is at a point in his life where (he) needs to make changes and (he) has the desire to do so,” Hernandez said.
Following his prison sentence, Elwell was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, according to prosecutors.
Wapato is about a 155-mile drive southeast from Seattle.
This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Boyfriend accused woman of cheating and stomped on her with steel-toed boots, feds say."
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