Man Charged with Strangling St. Louis Park Woman Over Text Message

A Minneapolis man has been charged with strangling a St. Louis Park woman after he became enraged over a text message.

Karl Alexander Coombs, 25, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

St. Louis Park police were called to a home on Pennsylvania Avenue South on Dec. 23 to investigate a disturbance, according to the criminal complaint, signed by St. Louis Park Police Lt. Michael Harcey.

Officers found the victim visibly upset and in tears. She said she and Coombs, whom she described as her boyfriend, had argued over a text message, and Coombs pushed her down, causing her to fall backward onto a table in her 4-year-old son’s bedroom.

Coombs then put his hand over her mouth and nose, holding it there and cutting off her ability to breathe, the woman told police. She escaped and made her way into the living room, but Coombs followed her and pushed her onto the couch, then put both his hands around her throat and squeezed, according to the complaint.

The woman’s son was present during the assault.

Coombs was arrested, and later admitted to police that he pushed the woman down and choked her to get her to stop screaming, according to the complaint.

Coombs has been released from custody on a $40,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Jan. 18 in Hennepin County District Court.