Iowa City Police: Husband Choked Wife Until She Vomited, Lost Control of Bladder

An Iowa City man is in the Johnson County Jail facing a serious felony charge after he allegedly severely choked his wife following an argument on Jan. 30.

According to an Iowa City Police Complaint, Malik Meru Alexander, 27, of Iowa City is facing a charge of domestic abuse assault: knowingly restricting breathing, a Class D felony after being booked into custody on Saturday. 

On Jan. 30, police were called to an address at the 1900 BLOCK of Broadway Street for the reference of a wife that had been choked by her husband. The woman told police that they had been involved in a fight because Alexander had been gone for three hours on a trip to buy cigarettes, in response he called her daughter a [expletive] which reportedly escalated the argument. 

As the argument grew even more intense, he followed her to the bathroom, allegedly choking the woman with one hand against the frame of the doorway for 15-30 seconds, causing her vision to go blurry and her eyeballs to roll back into her head, according to the complaint. The woman then struggled with Alexander and he bit and squeezed at her hands, causing bruises and lacerations. The woman then lost control of her bladder and vomited as she struggled away from him the ground according to the complaint.

Alexander then locked himself in the bedroom and left out a window. He was also charged for domestic abuse on Nov. 21, 2012. He currently is in the Johnson County Jail on $25,000 cash only bond according to jail records.