Pregnant Tacoma woman dies after beating by husband
A pregnant Tacoma woman severely beaten by her husband died of her injuries over the weekend.
The 27-year-old has not been publicly identified.
She was placed on life support Jan. 10 after suffering head trauma and a possible skull fracture. Her baby was estimated to be about 8 weeks old.
Ian Sweeney, 31, pleaded not guilty after the attack to first-degree assault and attempted second-degree murder with a domestic violence enhancement and is being held on $1 million bail. Prosecutors said they will upgrade the charges soon now that his wife has died.
Police were called to the couple’s home in the 5600 block of South Park Avenue and found the woman unconscious.
Sweeney repeatedly said, “It’s my fault,” and told officers he’d done methamphetamine twice that day and started questioning his wife’s “devotion and commitment,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
During an argument, Sweeney allegedly pushed his wife of 10 years into a wall and she banged her head.
He repeatedly slapped her until she got a bloody nose and punched her in the chest, arms, thighs and knees, records say.
She became dizzy and didn’t look well, so Sweeney allegedly searched online for information about the side effects of head trauma.
Their four children, ranging in age from 1 to 8, were in the house at the time. The oldest saw Sweeney hitting their mom, police said.
Sweeney told his children he was in trouble and would be “going to adult time out,” according to charging papers.
He eventually called 911 when his wife appeared to stop breathing. Paramedics called 911 because it appeared to be a domestic violence incident.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 12:55 PM.
