A 26-year-old man is accused of beating the mother of his child with a hammer after breaking through the sliding glass door of her Southeast Portland apartment and chasing her into the parking lot.
A witness reported to police that the man was “beating her half to death” in the parking lot off Southeast 72nd Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court Tuesday.
The woman sustained two skull fractures, spinal fractures and contusions on her back, according to police and court records.
Nathan G. Smith is accused of attempted murder, four counts of first-degree assault, eight counts of second-degree assault, and one count of first-degree burglary in the early Sunday morning attack.
Police found the hammer on the floor in the back seat of his vehicle, according to court records. He was arrested Sunday afternoon.
Smith is being held on just over $3 million bail at the Multnomah County Detention Center and was scheduled to be arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The victim, Serina J. Ambers, had called police on Smith six months earlier, when she said Smith had punched her in the neck in front of their son, then age 2, according to court records.
Ambers also had obtained a restraining order against Smith when the alleged assault occurred. On July 26, she wrote that Smith punched her and broke her cellphone.
As Smith was led away by police that day, he mouthed to Ambers, “I’ll see you soon, (expletive),” the court document said.
In the restraining order petition, Smith was described as having an anger problem: “He will get very angry and most likely will lash out and try to hurt someone.”
On July 26, Smith was ordered not to have contact with Ambers and only supervised parenting time with their son. He also was ordered to pay $296 a month in child support payments, according to court documents.
By Oct. 6, Ambers requested the court dismiss the restraining order against Smith.
“I feel safe and feel that Nathan has changed and both my son and I are safe with him,” the request said. “I feel like he has realized what he has done and don’t feel like restraining order is necessary anymore.”
On Oct. 6, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Holmes-Hehn granted the dismissal of the restraining order: “Plaintiff reports this was a one-time stress-related incident.”
