Steven Whayne Whipple

A West Sunbury man faces strangulation and assault charges Tuesday after allegedly beating and choking a woman and then locking himself in her apartment to evade state police.

When police arrived on Kelly Boulevard in Slippery Rock borough Saturday, court documents show, Steven Whayne Whipple, 47, was trying to get into a car which held the woman who reported his abuse. The woman's shirt was ripped and she had blood on her head and neck, police said. Whipple ran into her apartment upon seeing police cars, according to court documents.

The victim told police that Whipple had taken her cell phone and locked her in her bathroom. He punched her in the head, threatened to break her arm and choked her until she lost consciousness, police say in court documents. The abuse began late Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to investigators.

Eventually, the woman told police, Whipple called another man “to taunt him” and she managed to escape the apartment and hide in her car. That is when police arrived, at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Read more about this case in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.