A Wisconsin man who was with his pregnant girlfriend at a Maplewood hospital Thursday beat her so severely that medical staffers had to deliver the couple's baby by emergency Caesarean section, authorities said Friday.
Mother and baby appeared to be recovering Friday, according to Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. His office filed multiple assault charges against the boyfriend, Rufus J. Myers, 32, of Fitchburg.
Myers' 27-year-old girlfriend had been hospitalized since June 9 for preterm labor at St. John's and was required to be on bed rest until the couple's baby -- who was at 34 weeks' gestation on Thursday -- was born, the charges say.
According to the complaint, the attack began with Myers smashing a glass vase over his girlfriend's head. He then forced her backward into a hospital bathtub, grabbed a shower curtain rod to lift himself up and stomped the woman on the chest and stomach, the charges say.
Myers also allegedly went on to strike a doctor with glancing blows, punch a nurse in the shoulder and strike a nursing assistant four or five times about the face and head after approaching her and co-workers saying, "Who wants some?! Who wants some?!" the charges say.
The complaint does not say what set off the attack.
Authorities say blood was pooled and smeared throughout the hospital room and bathroom. The victim, her face covered in blood, had a large cut behind her ear. A staff member reportedly had redness and bruising on her right cheek and nose.
Myers is charged with two counts of second-degree assault, one count of third-degree assault and three counts of fifth-degree assault.
