Crystal Lake man gagged, choked wife with rope, police say
Robert J. Oswald, of the 1300 block of Fountain Green Drive, was charged with felony domestic battery and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence, a misdemeanor, as a result of the incident that left his wife with abrasions on her neck.
Crystal Lake police responded to the home about 4:38 a.m. Sunday after a 911 dispatcher received a call from a woman for help. The call was disconnected, Deputy Chief Gene Lowery said, but the woman got back in touch with a 911 dispatcher, who told her to lock herself in a room until officers arrived.
The charges allege that before his wife was able to get free and call for help, Oswald stuffed a cloth into her mouth while at the same time tightening a rope around her neck. The couple's children, ages 10 and 12, were inside the home at the time, Lowery said.
"The use of something like a ligature, it usually indicates some premeditation and certainly an escalation of violence not always seen in domestic situations," he added. "Especially with the implementation of a ligature, that's a frightening factor."
The woman refused medical attention, police said.
In a petition for an order of protection filed Monday, the woman states that she and Oswald had been talking about getting divorced Saturday night. She states that he woke her up about 4 a.m. and asked if there was any chance they would stay married. When she told him 'no,' the petition states, Oswald placed the rope around her neck.
When she managed to get the rope off her, the petition states, Oswald told his wife he was not trying to harm her, but only wanted to scare her.
After his arrest, Oswald was transported to the McHenry County jail where he spent the night Sunday before appearing in court Monday morning and later posting a $5,000 cash bond.
The domestic battery charge is elevated to a Class 2 felony, punishable by up to three to seven years in prison, because it involved strangling. The second charge is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.