DeLAND, Fla. – Volusia County deputies have arrested a man they said held his girlfriend hostage and beat her up at their home.
Deputies said Christopher Nill, 36, stripped off all of the victim's clothes, held her down on the bed with a knife, pulled her hair so hard she had two bald spots on her head, and attempted to strangle her.
She told deputies a fight escalated Saturday at their home on South Woodland Boulevard in Deland and she wasn't able to leave until Monday.
"I thought I was going to die," the victim told Local 6. She didn't want to be identified.
Deputies said she tried to yell for help but Nill grabbed her jaw and twisted her neck, cutting her lip, deputies said. He then threatened her with a knife and told her that he was going to kill her, her friends, and himself if she told anyone, according to deputies.
When Nill left the home on Monday, she called authorities, according to the arrest report.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through," the victim told Local 6.
"I thought I was going to die," she added.
The victim said she now has a restraining order.
Nill was arrested at his mother's house. He told deputies he pushed the victim down, pulled her hair and slapped her, but said he never threatened her with a knife.
He has been booked into the Volusia County Jail and faces charges of domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated assault with deadly weapon and false imprisonment.