Fight over drinking leads to strangulation charge

Bloomsburg, Pa. — A husband covered his wife's face so she couldn't breathe, then pinned her down while he held a knife to his own throat after an argument about drinking, police say.

Now Matthew Edward Stanton, 39, is charged with felony strangulation for the Jan. 15 incident at their home on Fourth Street.

Here's what South Centre Township police say happened:

The woman's brother called police just after midnight, saying his sister had called him to say she was leaving her house after she was attacked by her husband.

Officer Brenton Bacon went to the Fourth Street home where she lived and found Stanton there alone. He admitted he and his wife had gotten into an argument that night, but said the fight never turned physical. He gave police a phone number to contact his wife, though police soon discovered he had given them the wrong number.

Police were eventually able to contact Stanton's wife, who came to the station for an interview. She said they'd been at her brother's house earlier in the evening to play Nintendo Switch and Stanton was drinking heavily. They fought about it and Stanton left the home, she said.

She left and picked Stanton up near Bloomsburg University and drove them home. Once they were there, he started yelling at her and throwing things, like the Amazon Alexa device and a lamp.

He grabbed her by the neck while she was in their son's bedroom, then got her to the floor in the dining room, where he covered her mouth and nose. When she tried screaming, Stanton told her, 'No one will hear you scream."

She was able to get free, but then Stanton ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, she told police. He grabbed her again and tried to pin her down while he held the knife to his neck.

"Watch me cut my throat," Stanton reportedly said.

She reminded him his son needs a father and Stanton eventually put the knife down and apologized. That's when she ran out of the house and called her brother, she said.

Stanton was charged with second-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanor simple assault. He was also cited for harassment. Following a preliminary hearing on Jan. 23, all charges were waived to county court.

Docket sheet