Arrest record of Mt. Pleasant man accused of attempted homicide shows prior violence toward women

A 39-year-old Mt. Pleasant man accused of nearly killing a woman this month faced similar charges in connection with alleged attacks on two other women over the past two decades, according to court records.

Those cases, filed in 2003 and 2014, had different outcomes, but police described in arrest papers similar situations — Charles Paul Etling’s anger escalating during an argument that led to a physical abuse.

That’s what investigators say happened June 11, when he was accused of nearly choking a woman to death in Mt. Pleasant Township. At the time, Etling believed she was dead and dragged her into a wooded area along Jacobs Creek, according to police. She surfaced alive about 12 hours later.

Someone who has been a perpetrator of domestic violence in the past is highly likely to continue that behavior unless they get help, said Nicole Molinaro, president and CEO of Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. That help can come in the form of court-ordered or voluntary classes that would provide education and counseling, she said.

“It’s a pattern of power and control,” she said. “We believe that anybody can change. They need to want to change.”

Etling, who is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail, became involved in the adult court system 20 years ago, according to records.

Two minor arrests in November 2000 for crashing a relative’s car in Mt. Pleasant and in June 2003 for burglarizing a Ligonier Township home resulted in stints in the county jail.

Two months after the burglary arrest, police said he attacked a woman at her Greensburg apartment.

Etling reportedly got mad about a cellphone message someone left her and punched her in the face, jaw and wrists and choked her, according to arrest papers. He threatened her with a knife and used it to cut off her hair. He ripped her clothes off and bit her breasts before raping her, police said.

She escaped and was hospitalized. Police said she had a perforated ear drum, knife wounds and numerous bruises. During an evaluation after his arrest, Etling told a doctor that he had suicidal and homicidal thoughts and attacked the woman in a “fit of rage,” according to court records.

Etling pleaded guilty in 2007 to reduced charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and unlawful restraint. He was sentenced to 20 to 64 months in prison followed by two years of probation, according to court records. He was ordered to attend domestic abuse counseling.

Etling went to Alabama at some point after his release and was arrested there in 2010 on a drug possession charge, according to court and newspaper records. The disposition of that case was unclear.

He returned to Pennsylvania and was arrested in December 2014 on charges of false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, aggravated assault and related offenses. Mt. Pleasant police said he held a woman against her will for several hours, repeatedly hitting her and threatening her with a knife, according to newspaper accounts. Etling allegedly used the woman’s credit cards without her permission, causing an argument, police said at the time.

The outcome of that case is unknown. No record exists in Pennsylvania’s online court system, which is in the process of purging tens of millions of cases from public view under the state’s new Clean Slate law.

Molinaro said it is important to do research when meeting and dating someone new, whether it be on publicly available websites or checking with mutual friends and family. While the new love interest may seem perfect, Molinaro said to listen to others who might raise some red flags.

“It’s just so important to pay attention to that,” she said.

Anyone who believes they may be in a relationship with someone who has been abusive in the past can contact a domestic violence hotline to get help.

In the most recent case, Etling is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, strangulation and reckless endangerment. He told state troopers that he and the woman got into an argument while driving back from Morgantown, W.Va., and he started punching and choking her before dragging her out the driver’s side door on White Bridge Road in Mt. Pleasant Township.

He left her there because he thought he had killed her and he got scared, police said. He later confessed to his sister and parents, according to court papers. While he was being interviewed by police, the woman emerged not far from where she allegedly was left by Etling. She apparently awoke that morning and walked out of the woods.

Police said she had severe injuries on her head and face and her entire body was covered in dried mud. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday.