Man nabbed for attempted murder of wife

Two men reportedly saved the life of a woman who was allegedly strangled by her husband in a jungle area near the police station on Tinian early Saturday morning.

The suspect, Peter A. Villagomez, was arrested for attempted murder, assault, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.

Villagomez, 41, was set to appear for a bail hearing yesterday afternoon before Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman.

Police said the two witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, saw Villagomez choking his wife on the side of the road and were able to stop him.

Detective Barbara K. Arend said it was the off-duty firefighter who called Tinian police Saturday to report that he had found Villagomez strangling a woman on the side of the road.

Arend said the off-duty firefighter stated that at 1:14am he and a companion were aboard a car and were passing the rear part of the courthouse when they saw someone lying on the side of the road.

The witness said they thought someone has been run over by a vehicle so he and his companion got down from the car and saw two persons lying on the ground. As they approached, the witnesses asked if the two were fine. No one responded.

The witnesses noticed that Villagomez was choking the victim and that her face “was swollen and looked disfigured.”

When one of the witness tried to remove Villagomez’s arm from the victim’s neck, the defendant instead allegedly tightened his grip on her.

The defendant then kicked the firefighter’s companion on the hips. After being hit, the witness pinned Villagomez to the ground and removed Villagomez’s arm from the victim’s neck.

The witness said the woman was not breathing normally and was gasping for air.

Later that day, the victim told police she was walking to her sister’s house when her husband followed her. When she reached the jungle area across the back of the police station, Villagomez came from behind and allegedly choked her and said he would kill her.

Villagomez dragged her into the jungle area. When the victim almost lost consciousness, he released her a little bit. This enabled her to free herself and she ran to the shoulder of the road. He, however, chased her and choked her again.

The victim said she saw a car coming so she took her sunglasses and threw it at the vehicle to get attention. She then fell unconscious.