Evans man hits wife in head with baseball bat & calls 911 to confess

William Paul Ashmore Jr.

Date: January 17, 2024

An Evans man struck his wife in the head three times with a baseball bat Tuesday morning and then called 911 to confess as she ran to a neighbor for help, authorities said.

William Paul Ashmore Jr., 61, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault in his wife’s brutal assault on Andover Way.

“Paul Ashmore called 911 and reported to dispatch that he had hit his wife in the head with a baseball bat,” sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said. “He also held a knife to her before she ran away to a neighbor’s residence.”

In the 911 call, Ashmore admitted to hitting his wife and trying to kill her, the major said. Deputies arrived, located the suspect and detained him. His wife was located nearby on Montrose Place, where she was seen by EMS and transported to the hospital. She was conscious at the time of transport, Maj. Morris said.

A baseball bat and knife were taken as evidence.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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