Man Charged With Strangulation In Montauk

A 26-year-old man from Washington, D.C. is facing multiple charges after allegedly brutally beating his girlfriend in their summer rental in Montauk Sunday evening, August 18. Robert Turner was sharing a rental on Gravesend Avenue with the woman, who is from New York City, as well as with other friends.

The woman spoke with police at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where she was being treated for numerous bruises across her body, including a bruised throat and a fractured thumb.

She told police that Turner had been abusive, both verbally and physically, in the past. The two had gone to The Surf Lodge, where, the woman said, he became physical. She asked a bouncer to throw him out. In the end, both were asked to leave. They returned to the Gravesend rental separately. There, the two of them began screaming at each other, she told police in her statement, with Turner cursing at her and calling her a whore.

Turner allegedly grabbed her arm and twisted it, breaking her thumb. He then choked her, kicked her in the chest repeatedly, and dragged her to the swimming pool by her ponytail.

Turner pushed the woman under water, refusing to let her up, until she began blacking out, the police said. She managed to break away from him, she told police, though she could not remember how. The woman said she told another renter at the house to call the police. Squad cars were quickly on the scene, and Turner was soon under arrest.

He was charged with a felony, strangulation, as well as a misdemeanor assault charge and a misdemeanor choking charge. Bail was set at $5000 the next morning, which was eventually posted.

t.e@indyeastend.com