KINGSHILL — Police are investigating after a man accused of being in a love triangle became enraged and assaulted a St. Croix woman.
Ralph Cook, Jr., 51, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree assault-domestic violence, simple assault & battery and attempted murder, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The 911 Emergency Call Center dispatched the Criminal Investigation Bureau to a domestic violence case that occurred in Strawberry Hill on Monday, according to the VIPD.
The female victim reported that she and her boyfriend got into a verbal dispute after she
asked him about his female friend, police said.
“The argument escalated, he became physical, and he assaulted and strangled her, until she could not breathe,” VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said. “The victim was able to escape the male individual and she was taken to the Juan F. Luis Hospital where she was treated for her injuries.”
Members of the VIPD Criminal Investigation Bureau took Cook into custody without incident at his Estate Strawberry Hill residence on Tuesday, according to Dratte.
No bail was set for Cook as per the domestic violence statute. He was transported to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility pending an advice-of-rights hearing.