A Packwood man is being held on $1 million bail for an attempted murder charge after he reportedly struck and attempted to both strangle and drown his significant other.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to an address in the 12800 block of Highway 12 at 4:45 a.m. on Jan. 22 and made contact with the victim, a 37-year-old Packwood woman. The victim had a large laceration on her head and reported that she had been in a physical dispute with Jence S. Sawyer, 29, of Packwood.
She reported that Sawyer struck her several times during the dispute, strangled her until she passed out and held her underwater in the bathtub until she lost consciousness.
A juvenile witness confirmed the altercation, including the attempted strangulation and drowning, according to Dusty Breen, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office’s field operations chief. Breen added that the victim had attempted to call 911 during the altercation, but Sawyer prevented her from doing so.
Sawyer was booked into the Lewis County jail at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 22 on charges of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and interfering with the report of domestic violence.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court at 4 p.m. on Jan. 25, after The Chronicle’s print deadline. Please see chronline.com for updates.
