MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 47-year-old Hastings man is accused of punching and kicking his girlfriend badly enough that she needed open-heart surgery while his ex-girlfriend was cleaning their house, according to charges filed Tuesday in Dakota County Court.
Todd David Casey was charged with first-degree assault in connection with the June 25 incident.
According to a complaint, Casey and the victim were supposed to be at a family brunch on June 25 but didn’t show, and the victim’s father became concerned and went to her house. When he arrived, Casey’s ex-girlfriend was there cleaning with a child she and Casey had together.
The victim’s father found his daughter nearly unresponsive in a bedroom cold to the touch with a body temperature of about 91 degrees. He had her transported by ambulance to a hospital, and it was later learned that she needed open heart surgery to repair a tear in heart muscle that she had been bleeding out from. Without surgery, she would’ve died, the complaint states.
Police came back to the house the next day to meet with the woman’s father and the woman’s son who she had with Casey. The son told police that Casey was his mother’s boyfriend and that he had hit him in the mouth and nose and that he had punched her in the face twice.
Casey’s girlfriend told police she had been dating him for the past two months and when they met, he was living with his ex-girlfriend so he could help take care of the child they had together. The victim had been supporting Casey, but lost her job due to methamphetamine use.
The victim also told police that she was home with Casey, his ex-girlfriend and the two children on June 25. The victim was arguing with Casey in their bedroom because he wanted her to have a sexual relationship with his ex-girlfriend. They then argued over methamphetamine when the victim refused to give any to Casey, the complaint states.
The victim said Casey then punched her in the chest, knocking her off the bed. She thought her ribs were broken and was having trouble breathing, according to the complaint.
On three different occasions, Casey told police three different stories of what happened. Casey said first that nothing happened, then that the victim grabbed him by the face and he pushed her away. Finally, he said she knocked a plate of food from his hands and lunged at him, causing him to raise his knees and push her away, the complaint states.
He said that no woman was going to slap the food out of his hands, nor would any woman ever touch or grab his face like that, according to the complaint.
If convicted of felony assault, Casey faces up to 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
