METAIRIE, La. — A Louisiana man is charged with attempted murder after he stabbed his wife in the neck and tried to strangle her with a string of Christmas lights, authorities said.
Ritchi Mendoza, 27, of Metairie, is being held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on bail set at $250,000, jail records show. According to NOLA.com, Mendoza and his wife have been married for about eight months.
A strand of Christmas lights was still wrapped around her neck, NOLA.com reported.
The news site reported that a sheriff's deputy responded the morning of Feb. 22 to the couple's home after 911 dispatchers received a call regarding an injured woman. The deputy saw signs of a violent struggle and was waiting for backup when he heard moaning coming from further inside the home.
The deputy found Mendoza’s wife, 32, suffering from stab wounds to the throat and neck, Sheriff’s Office officials said. She had also been beaten in the head and face.
She was rushed to a New Orleans hospital, where she was expected to survive, the news site said. She remained hospitalized Thursday.
Mendoza, who had called 911, was nowhere to be found when deputies arrived, according to authorities. Louisiana state troopers took him into custody several hours later near Baton Rouge.
Mendoza, who was transferred back to Jefferson Parish on Thursday, has been issued an 18-month order of protection barring him from contacting his wife or her family, NOLA.com reported.