A St. Paul man was charged with attempted murder Friday after he allegedly bound his girlfriend's wrists and ankles with duct tape, wrapped his hands around her neck and pushed her deep into a mattress on a bedroom floor.

Officers responding to the assault had to kick the man off the woman, authorities said. The woman gasped for air and reportedly told police: "He was going to kill me. You saved my life."

She did not need medical attention, police spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell said Friday.

The boyfriend, Diallo D. Coleman, 30, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, false imprisonment and domestic assault by strangulation, according to a complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.

Interviews with the woman and two witnesses offered different accounts of what led to the Thursday morning attack in the 100 block of Douglas Street. Police were able to intervene after they were called about 1:45 a.m. by someone outside the house and then being directed to the bedroom by people inside.

Court records show Coleman was convicted previously in Hennepin County with domestic assault and interfering with a 911 call.