Mt. Pleasant man admits assault, denies attempted murder of girlfriend

Charles Etling told a Westmoreland County jury on Thursday that he was sure he killed his live-in girlfriend in June 2020 when he left her lifeless body in a wooded area near the side of a Mt. Pleasant Township road.

“I thought … (she) was deceased. I felt bad just because we were fighting but I still loved her. I felt bad and wanted to admit what happened,” Etling testified during the second day of his attempted homicide trial. “I am guilty of assault. I am not guilty of intent. I thought I killed her because that’s what I was told.”

Etling, 41, of Mt. Pleasant, is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, strangulation and reckless endangerment after prosecutors say he brutally beat his now 42-year-old former girlfriend as the couple fought while driving home from renting a home in West Virginia.

Prosecutors say Etling punched the woman in the face, dragged her out of a vehicle by the hair and strangled her until she was unconscious. Police said Etling then pulled the body about 50 feet into the woods and drove off.

The woman eventually regained consciousness and 12 hours later emerged from the woods covered in bruises and caked in mud and vegetation. She was spotted crawling towards a home more than two miles from where she was left, according to witnesses.

The prosecution said the woman sustained multiple facial injuries, was treated at a local hospital and released later that day.

Etling was one of four witnesses who testified for the defense. They claimed he had become enraged that night over allegations raised months prior that led him to believe the woman exposed his young daughter to sexual situations and dangerous men involved in the drug trade.

Prosecutors say there is no evidence to support Etling’s allegation that his girlfriend acted improperly around the girl.

Both Etling and his accuser told jurors their three-year relationship was marred by drug use. The woman claimed she was previously assaulted by Etling, including incidents where she said he wrapped an extension cord around her neck and put a gun in her mouth.

Etling denied the previous assault claims but conceded that he did threaten her with a hammer months before the November 2020 incident.

The defense has conceded Etling’s guilt in the aggravated assault and strangulation but refuted the attempted homicide allegation.

“I never wanted to kill her,” Etling testified.

Etling told jurors he had weapons and tools in his truck that he could have used if he intended to kill his girlfriend. He said he and another man returned to the scene to confirm the woman was dead.

Etling said he remained in his truck as the other man, who did not testify during the trial, observed the body.

Etling testified he then went home, used drugs, and hours later went to his mother’s home to confess. Police were eventually called and recorded an interrogation in which Etling admitted to assaulting the woman and leaving her body in the woods.

Closing arguments in the case are expected to begin Friday morning.