City man accused of brutal attack on wife
WOONSOCKET – A city man was held in lieu of bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions Sunday after he brutally beat his wife – who’s suffering from cancer – hours after they celebrated her birthday.
Police said the victim was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment after it was determined that the attack had left her with serious injuries, including a “brain bleed” and four broken ribs.
David E. Leduc, 40, of 167 Blackstone St., is charged with domestic assault by strangulation; domestic felony assault; domestic disorderly conduct; and failure to relinquish a telephone. He was released from police headquarters to the ACI for lack of $10,000 surety bail pending a hearing in Sixth District Court. According to police reports, Leduc and his wife went out to celebrate her birthday in Providence on Saturday night, but the two had an argument and she left him there. He later showed up at their apartment in the former St. Frances House and the conflict turned violent.
Police reports say Leduc punched his 45-year-old
spouse in the face and pushed her to the floor, then climbed on top of her and began choking her until she couldn’t breathe. At the same time, Leduc allegedly pounded her head on the floor repeatedly.
At one point, Leduc let her up and she began running off. But Leduc allegedly chased her down a hallway of the apartment complex. She found herself on the floor a second time, with Leduc subjecting her to another round of punching, choking and head-smashing. He eventually stopped, picked her up off the floor and began carrying her back into the apartment – which is when police arrived.
“We went over to inves-
tigate and a male subject emerged from around the corner with his arm around a female,” said Patrol Officer Sean Rochette. “It almost appeared as if the male was dragging the female.”
Sobbing uncontrollably, the victim was bleeding from the knees with swelling and redness about her face and neck when they found her, police said.
“My husband beat the s--out of me,” she told investigators. “I’m so scared.”
The woman told Rochette that she was suffering from “stage four cancer” and that she was worried the attack would worsen her condition.
The woman told police Leduc had taken her cell phone during the attack when she tried to call for help. Police said they found her phone, from which the SIM
card had been removed.
Initially, the victim was taken to Landmark Medical Center, but doctors there later informed headquarters that she was to be transferred to Rhode Island Hospital after discovering significant injuries, namely, the brain bleed and broken ribs.
For the police, the episode began with an anonymous caller to dispatch who report-
ed that a man had broken a window at 167 Blackstone St. and he was “throwing things” while a woman could be heard crying.
Leduc has had several past contacts with the criminal justice system, including a 2004 conviction for misdemeanor domestic assault and two prior convictions for driving under the influence, according to the judiciary’s
web site.
A preliminary appearance in Sixth District Court on
the new charges Leduc faces had not yet taken place as of press time on Tuesday.