Man Charged with Bathtub Assault on Girlfriend

A SouthSide woman was taking a bath Friday when her boyfriend with whom she has lived for five years got home.

They started arguing through the locked bathroom door because, the boyfriend said, she forgot to text him that she was home.

The boyfriend, Donel O. Ramirez-Castro, 26, got a large kitchen knife to pry open the door and once in the bathroom, “he held up the knife and told her he would teach her how to respect him” and said he was going to kill her, she told police.

Ramirez-Castro, who has been charged in the case, put down the knife and pulled her out of the bathtub by the hair, pushed her against the wall and punched her several times in the face, court records say.

The woman ran from the bathroom into the kitchen, where Ramirez-Castro pushed her to the floor, kicked her in the legs and midsection, then got on top of her and began choking her. She was able to kick him to get him off her and ran to the bedroom to get clothes on so she could leave the house.

He grabbed her by the hair and pushed her against a wall, again saying he was going to kill her and teach her to respect him. Then he started choking her again. She was eventually able to get away and leave.

Police later found Ramirez-Castro at his mother’s residence a short distance away from the home he and his girlfriend have shared – 1125 Mechanic St., Apt. 1.

When police talked to the woman, they saw “fresh scratches” on both thighs, redness and swelling along the back of her shoulders, redness around her neck, a large bump on the back of her head and bruising and swelling to her right eye.

Ramirez-Castro was charged with simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment. He was arraigned at 3 am Saturday by on-duty District Judge Todd Strohe of Bangor and committed to Northampton County Prison after failing to post $20,000 bail.