A Battle Ground man who allegedly strangled his wife repeatedly when she refused to smoke a substance from his vape pen made a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Monday.
Rodman A. Widing, 37, faces an allegation of first-degree assault-domestic violence stemming from the June 14 incident at a residence at 30214 N.E. Lewisville Highway.
Deputy Prosecutor Rachael Probstfeld told Judge Derek Vanderwood that the victim’s injuries were disturbing. “She’s very lucky to be alive,” Probstfeld said.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court, Widing’s wife called 911 twice about 12:30 a.m. on June 14 and hung up. Emergency dispatchers called her back and she whispered for help. At about 12:45 a.m. she called 911 from a neighbor’s house and reported being assaulted by her husband, Widing. She said Widing was running around naked looking for her and her children.
When Clark County sheriff’ deputies arrived at the residence, they said Widing was uncooperative and appeared to be high on some type of drug. He reportedly started running at a deputy saying, “kill me, kill me.” He then ran back toward the house, got on the ground and started eating dirt and grass, the affidavit says. He eventually was detained and taken to a hospital, where he had to be medicated for his aggressive behavior, court records said.
His wife was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for her injuries. She reportedly told deputies that Widing had been acting strange that weekend. She said he was animated and rambled about things that didn’t make sense. She thought it was because he was smoking marijuana, according to court documents.
On June 14, she said, she found Widing smoking liquid marijuana from his vape pen. He gave her the marijuana and said he was going to “sleep it off,” the affidavit says. She later checked on Widing and found him smoking something from his vape pen. He reportedly said that he was God and he told her she needed to smoke with him “so she could feel what he does. She needed to smoke it to understand him,” according to court records.
She said it appeared Widing was hallucinating. He then grabbed her and tried to force her to smoke. She said she refused and pushed him away. He then threw her on a bed and began strangling her repeatedly, the affidavit says.
Probstfeld told Vanderwood that Widing’s wife escaped by climbing over a barbed wire fence with her children. One child was injured, she said.
Widing is being held in the Clark County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned June 30.
