A man is in custody after allegedly beating his girlfriend for not having dinner ready when he got home from work.

Thomas Dale Hendrix, 32, is charged with strangulation, Family Violence Prevention Act battery, false imprisonment and child endangerment.

Casper police officers went to a home on North Fenway Street shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a family fight. A person who called 911 said they heard their neighbor -- Hendrix -- beating his wife while children screamed "daddy stop."

Officers arrived and spoke to the victim in the front yard. Hendrix was nowhere to be found, but officers did find an open bedroom window and the bathroom door laying on the floor in the hallway, according to an affidavit.

The victim told officers Hendrix got home from work at about 8:30 p.m. and started arguing with her because she did not have dinner ready. The victim tried to leave to avoid the fight, but Hendrix allegedly strangled her to keep her from leaving.

Hendrix reportedly grabbed the victim by the throat, pushed her up against a wall and strangled her for three to five seconds. When he stopped, he allegedly pushed the victim to the floor.

The victim pushed back and was able to escape by running to the bathroom with two children, she said. Hendrix allegedly ripped the bathroom door off its hinges and confronted the victim again.

She tried to leave the bathroom, but Hendrix reportedly pushed her to the floor again.

The victim was able to get out of the house with her children. She asked neighbors to call 911.

According to her statements to police, the victim said Hendrix had been living at the home and motels in Casper. She said she and Hendrix had stopped dating about 8 months prior.

Witnesses reportedly told police they heard children yelling "daddy stop" during the alleged fight, and one man said he saw Hendrix slap the victim across the face. However, the victim said she had never been slapped and police didn't see anything to indicate she had been slapped, the affidavit says.

Officers didn't find Hendrix until Sunday, when he was arrested on unrelated charges which were not detailed in court documents at the time of this writing.

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