An Evans man is behind bars after he reportedly struck his wife with a baseball bat and then phoned the authorities to confess the violent act. William Paul Ashmore Jr., 61, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault following the harrowing incident which unfolded at their home on Andover Way, as per the The Augusta Press. According to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Ashmore also threatened his wife with a knife before she managed to escape and seek refuge at a neighbor's house.
Bleak and distressing, the ordeal came to light Tuesday morning after the assault had transpired. Paul Ashmore called 911 and admitted to the dispatcher that he had hit his wife in the head with a baseball bat. "He also held a knife to her before she ran away to a neighbor's residence," said sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris, in a statement obtained by The Augusta Press. Deputies quickly responded to the locale, apprehending Ashmore at the couple's residence.
In the wake of the assault, the victim sought shelter at a nearby home on Montrose Place. She was assisted by EMS and transported to a hospital, conscious despite the traumatic episode recounted by police. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a baseball bat and a knife, presumably used in the attack, were taken as evidence. The report by WJBF noted the severity of the charges faced by Ashmore in light of the admitted attempt on his wife's life.
Lurid details of the domestic violence incident soon circulated, with Ashmore openly confessing to the crime in a chilling 911 call. "Ashmore admits to hitting his wife and trying to kill her," the police report starkly summarized, as Kicks99 reported. Following his arrest, Ashmore was taken into custody and is currently housed at the Columbia County Detention Center.
The community remains shaken by the brutality laid bare on Andover Way, its peace disrupted by an act of domestic violence that has left one woman fighting for her recovery and a man facing grave legal repercussions. As the legal process unfolds, the ramifications of this assault continue to linger, both within the home where it occurred and throughout the broader community.
