Cranberry man jailed for alleged attack on his wife
CRANBERRY TWP — A township man is accused of repeatedly punching his wife in the head, knowing she had a stent in her brain for a previous medical condition.
Cranberry Township police arrested Byron F. Byrd, 50, Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor assault charges. He is in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Officers spoke to the 48-year-old victim Wednesday at UPMC Passavant in Cranberry Township, where she had gone for treatment for her injuries, police said. Those injuries, she said, were from an earlier altercation with her husband.
She recounted that she found out Byrd had been drinking when he returned Monday to their home on the 9200 block of Marshall Road. She confronted him in the basement, police said.
Byrd allegedly started throwing items at her, including a small flashlight that hit her left big toe, breaking it.
Additionally, police said, she was struck in the back and buttocks by a metal pick used to break car window glass as well as other unknown objects, which caused bruises and a cut.
Byrd eventually calmed down, but later in the evening, his wife told police, he got mad at her again and allegedly began punching her on top of the head.
“Bryan is aware (his wife) has a stent in her brain for a medical condition,” according to charging documents, “and any trauma to her head could result in a stroke or paralysis.”
Still, police said, he punched her in the head more than 10 times. He also allegedly struck her in both temples and in the mouth.
The alleged assault left the woman with lumps and bruises to her head and arms, and one of her teeth was knocked loose.
“(The victim) has also had a constant pain in her brain,” documents said, “that has not subsided since the incident.”
District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned Byrd on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. As part of the defendant's bond, Stoughton ordered that he have no contact with his wife.
At his arraignment, Byrd said he is unemployed. His preliminary hearing is Oct. 4. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
