Hilton Head man charged with assault after choking wife as child slept in crib, police say

A Hilton Head Island man was charged with first degree domestic violence Saturday after he assaulted his wife near their sleeping child’s crib, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

Just before 3 a.m., deputies responded to a Broad Creek Landing neighborhood and could hear a female voice saying “you’re hurting me” and “don’t hurt me,” the report said. After 40 minutes of searching the area, the deputies weren’t able to find the victim, the report said.

The woman called 911 again at 4:45 a.m. saying her husband was stangling her, the report said.

The suspect, James Darrell Kirkwood, 37, answered the door and had an odor of alchohol, the report said.

Kirkwood’s wife said the two began arguing when she got home from work around 2 a.m. because he had been drinking while he was home alone with their baby, the report said. She grabbed a blanket and pillow to sleep in the child’s room to “de-esclate the situation” when Kirkwood came in, grabbed her by her neck and refused to release her, the release said.

The wife had red marks along the right side of her neck, the report said.

Kirkwood admitted to putting his wife in a choke hold, but said she was striking him in the face, the report said. He did not show any signs of injury.

Kirwood was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center just before 7 a.m. Saturday and released hours later, according to the jail log.