Man Beats Ex With Sledgehammer

The convicted man claims he accidentally hit her.

A western Pennsylvania man has been convicted of attempted homicide for hitting his ex-girlfriend in the head with a sledgehammer, which he contends was an accident.

The Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pa. reports 48-year-old Paul Helmick, of Canton Township, was convicted Wednesday in the Jan. 29 attack on 51-year-old Lori Ann Phillips.

Helmick testified that he used the sledgehammer to beat on her apartment door because he wanted to confront a man he believed was in there with her. Helmick says she opened the door as he prepared to hammer it again and claims he just shoved aside the woman and hit her accidentally with the hammer in the process.

Washington County prosecutors say Phillips spent 11 days in the hospital with a fractured skull, a broken rib and now has dizzy spells and memory problems.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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