SALT RIVER — A Georgia man was charged with domestic violence on Monday.
Michael Morris Steele, 24, of Rossville, Georgia was arrested and charged with assaulting a woman by pushing her into a beach bonfire and holding her into the flame and threatening to kill her, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
At 12:27 a.m. on Monday, the 911 Emergency Call Center received a report of an assault at Salt River, Christiansted, according to the VIPD.
At the scene, the female victim, who was unidentified by police, told officers that she was assaulted by a male acquaintance.
She told officers the attacker had pushed her into a bonfire on the beach, that he became enraged and held her down into the flames and threatened to kill her.
The woman sustained burns to her body. She was transported to Juan F. Luis Hospital and subsequently airlifted to the mainland for further treatment, police said.
Police took Steele into custody and charged him with first-degree assault-domestic violence, mayhem and first-degree attempted murder.
As per the domestic violence statute, no bail was set.
He was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing.