A Mt. Pleasant woman told a judge she remains haunted by memories of her assault nearly three years ago.
The 42-year-old woman crawled two miles after being beaten and left to die in a roadside ditch.
“I screamed for my mom and dad, and I screamed, ‘Please help me.’ It was terrifying, and I didn’t think I would ever hear another human voice again,” the woman testified Thursday during a sentencing hearing for the man convicted in connection with the attack. “Twelve hours after Chuck disposed me like a piece of trash, I was saving myself.”
Following a four-day trial in January, Charles Etling, 42, of Mt. Pleasant Township was convicted of aggravated assault, strangulation and reckless endangerment for the June 11, 2020, attack against his then-girlfriend. The jury found Etling not guilty of attempted homicide.
On Thursday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears sentenced Etling to serve 9 1/2 to 25 years in prison, a penalty that fell short of the proposed 15- to 30-year sentence requested by prosecutors who argued Etling’s criminal record showed a history of violence that warrants a prolonged period of incarceration.
According to court records, Etling previously pleaded guilty to assaulting another woman in 2007 and served a 20-to-64 month prison term.
“I feel this is justified. If the defendant was convicted of attempted homicide, I would have unquestionably sentenced him to a lot more. A 15-year sentence would have eliminated the jury verdict, and that is not proper,” Mears said.
Prosecutors said the woman was attacked by Etling as the couple drove home from West Virginia, where they rented a home.
On the drive back, after stopping at two bars, Etling became enraged, punched her in the face, dragged her out of a vehicle by her hair and strangled her along the side of a road. Etling then pulled her about 50 feet into the woods and drove off, leaving her to die, according to witnesses.
The woman regained consciousness, and, about 12 hours later, crawled more than 2 miles to a home, where she was spotted with her lower body unclothed and her face covered in bruises and caked in mud and vegetation.
“Chuck has no regard for my family. He tried to take me away from all of them,” she testified during in Thursday’s sentencing hearing. “I am not Charles’ first victim, but I hope I am his last. I struggle with this daily.”
Etling admitted at trial he attacked the woman and confirmed he initially confessed to her murder before learning she had survived the attack. On Thursday, Etling apologized.
“If I could turn back time, I would,” Etling said. “I messed up, and I’m sorry. I wish you nothing but the best. I just made a huge mistake.”
