Inset: Steven Wolfe (Phelps County Jail). Background: The defendant”s purported residence in Rolla, Mo. (Google Maps).
In a disturbing incident in Missouri, a man has been arrested following a violent altercation over food, where he allegedly tore the skin off a woman’s neck. This alarming event has left the local community in shock as details emerge about what transpired.
Authorities have charged 25-year-old Steven Wolfe with first-degree assault, alleging he caused serious physical harm. The Rolla Police Department, along with prosecutors, have kept the victim’s identity confidential at this time, pending further investigation.
The violent encounter took place on March 30 in Rolla, a small city located about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. The residence on October Place became the scene of the crime, marking a day that would not be easily forgotten by those involved.
Police responded to the address just before 6 p.m. after receiving a distress call about an assault. The call came from an employee at the residence, who reported that a co-worker had been attacked by a resident, as detailed in the criminal complaint.
According to the statement of probable cause, dispatchers noted that the assault had resulted in an injury to a fresh tattoo. Fortunately, the situation had de-escalated enough for the involved parties to be separated by the time officers arrived.
The probable cause statement says dispatch “relayed there was an injury to a fresh tattoo and the parties were separated.”
Both parties had been separated by the time police arrived, the officer noted, before proceeding to inspect the victim.
“I observed a large laceration to her throat about 3 inches tall and stretching the entire length of her throat,” the charging document continues. “There was a copious amount of blood, down the front of [the victim’s] chest that appeared to be drying. [The victim] was conscious and alert and advised she was not moving her neck.”
As the interview with the woman went on, the victim described making dinner for the defendant when signals got violently mixed.
“[The victim] stated she had cooked dinner for Wolfe and the other resident,” the probable cause statement goes on. “[The victim] advised Wolfe was upset and told her the macaroni and cheese she made belonged to him.”
Efforts to reason with the defendant failed, the victim told police.
“[The victim] advised she tried explaining to Wolfe that she made the dinner for him and the other resident when Wolfe grabbed her,” the charging document continues. [The victim] advised Wolfe pinned her against the wall and grabbed her throat. Wolfe then pulled the skin on [her] throat where she had just received a tattoo approximately 5 days prior. Wolfe ripped the skin from [her] neck, leaving the large laceration.”
The defendant also left scratch marks on the woman’s back and damaged her cellphone during the attack, police said.
The woman said she eventually got away from her assailant, who then sat back down at the kitchen table “and began playing on his tablet,” according to the probable cause statement.
Wolfe is currently detained in the Phelps County Jail on $250,000 bond, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime. He is next slated to appear in court on April 6, records show.
