Arnold man charged with assaulting woman, leaving blood trail to apartment

An Arnold man is accused of beating a woman so severely Sunday she left a puddle of blood on a sidewalk, according to police.

Arnold police said they responded to a reported domestic dispute in the 2200 block of Leishman Avenue at about 7:20 p.m.

A caller told police she saw a woman come out of an apartment covered in blood. A man later identified as Clayton Robert Fertig, 52, came outside and allegedly dragged the woman back into the apartment, leaving behind a large puddle of blood on the sidewalk and a trail of blood back into the apartment, according to Fertig’s arrest papers.

Police forced their way into that apartment when no one answered the door, the criminal complaint said.

Inside, police found Fertig “heavily intoxicated” and lying on a bedroom floor, while the woman was lying on the bathroom floor covered in blood, the complaint said.

The woman told police that Fertig got mad at her when he was drinking and punched her in the face multiple times, the complaint said. The woman had a cut on the side of her nose and was bleeding from the back of her head, police said.

Paramedics who treated the woman at the scene told officers that she needed to be taken to the hospital “due to losing consciousness and the severe blood loss,” according to the complaint.

Fertig remained in Westmoreland County Prison in Greensburg on Wednesday because he had not posted $25,000 bond.

He faces a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 19.