Michael Mays, 39, is being held without bail for charges that he beat and raped his burglary partner, who he brought with himself from California. Prosecutors said Mays repeated beat and strangled the woman until she foamed at the mouth, and threatened her with a large kitchen knife.
According to the Brattleboro (VT) Reformer, Local man accused of assault is denied bail:
The state submitted photos of the woman's injuries, marks on her neck, knee and a bruise to her eye, as evidence, which Judge Karen Carroll said were one of the main factors in her decision to hold Mays without bail.
Public Defender Paul Berch suggested the injuries may have been from a prior assault from another person but was not able to give details on this Friday. Mays has claimed, according to Kirkpatrick, that "he had not hurt her in any way and her injuries had occurred when she had fallen down in the snow."
The accusations were made after she and Mays were arrested for allegedly breaking into a camper trailer at the Water Treatment Facility on Riverside Street in Brattleboro.
Berch attempted to show that the fear of this charge was the reason why the alleged victim made the claims. "You have hypothetically two individuals from out of state, both with criminal records ... one of these persons says, 'Oh, I'm in trouble here, I'm going to say he did terrible things to me ... and get off scott free by saying the other one forced me to do it.'"
Trespassing charges carry a maximum sentence of 3 years, a $2000 fine, or both. The state also showed that the alleged victim did not make accusations about the assaults until after Mays was in custody.
She also claims Mays kept all her credit cards and her cell phone and had her Social Security checks deposited into his account. Brattleboro Police Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick said on the record Friday that Mays gave him the woman's identification card when they were arrested and she had no identification on her person.
When Deputy State's Attorney Ellen Kryger mentioned this in court Friday, Mays repeatedly laughed out loud and uttered an expletive suggesting that he did not believe this claim.
The woman alleges Mays would not allow her out of his sight and controlled what she could do and say. A number of times, police responded to reports of disturbances at the hotels, the woman told Kirkpatrick, but she had been too afraid to speak up about the abuse.
Mays faces life in prison and $152,000 in fines if convicted of all charges. His next hearing, a status conference, is set for March 17.
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