Man charged with attempted murder

PALMER -- A 25-year-old Wasilla man was arrested Sunday for attempted murder and other charges after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.

Paul D. Weston was lodged at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in lieu of $15,000 bail, Alaska State Troopers said. In addition to the unclassified felony charge of first-degree attempted murder, he was charged with second-degree assault, a class B felony, and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor interference with a domestic violence report, troopers said.

The alleged victim was dropped off at a female friend's house by Weston shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday, charging documents said. The woman originally told her friend she had been assaulted by three Samoan females while hitchhiking from Anchorage to Wasilla, charging documents said.

However, the girlfriend reportedly saw Watson's car leaving and told troopers when they arrived to investigate. The alleged victim then acknowledged she had been beaten by Weston, who told her to make up the story, documents said.

Trooper Paul Wegrzyn's affidavit said the woman's face appeared to be swollen and she had two large scrapes on both of her elbows. "Her left eye was black and blue and swollen shut, and she had what appeared to be bruises or ligature marks on both sides of her neck resembling the shape of fingers," the affidavit said.

The woman said she and Weston had been at a bar in Eagle River and she had hugged a male friend, which angered Weston, according to the affidavit. Weston became physically violent when they reached her sister's Eagle River house where they planned to spend the night, the affidavit said, adding he pushed her down the stairs.

Then Weston climbed on top of the woman and began hitting her in the face repeatedly with closed fists, Wegrzyn said in the affidavit. She escaped long enough to call for help but Weston unplugged the telephone, he wrote.

Then Weston got back on top of the woman and began to strangle her, saying, "I'm going to kill you. You're not walking out of here alive," according to the affidavit.

Wegrzyn's report of the incident said the woman blacked out and when she woke up Weston drove her to the girlfriend's house in Wasilla. The woman later went to Valley Hospital for treatment.

Troopers took Weston into custody near Palmer at 9:25 a.m. Sunday. He reportedly first denied the assault, then said he acted in self-defense. He told troopers the woman hit herself in the face to try to incriminate him for assault, according to charging documents.

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.