Takoma Park Man Beats Ex-Girlfriend with 18-Pound Crucifix

A Takoma Park man was convicted Wednesday of attempted murder for beating his estranged girlfriend at least 20 times with an 18-pound crucifix that he took off an apartment wall, Montgomery County prosecutors said Thursday.

The victim bought herself time during the attack by telling the man to stop long enough to turn on a Barbie DVD for their two girls to watch in another room so they wouldn't see the assault, authorities said. A Takoma Park police officer eventually burst into the apartment, saw the man with a knife at the blood-soaked woman's throat and shot him twice, with one of the bullets passing through his chest and hitting the victim in her arm, prosecutors and police said.

The attacker, Carlos I. Ovalle, 33, threatened to kill his estranged girlfriend as far back as early 2008, prompting the victim to obtain a one-year protective order. On Dec. 21, police say, Ovalle broke into her apartment and hid in a closet, waiting for her to return. When she did, Ovalle sprang out and tried to stab and strangle her. Bits of the cross were later found in the victim's skull, Takoma Park police said.

At 12:13 a.m., Dec. 22, Takoma Park police received a call from a woman crying in an apartment in the 700 block of Hudson Avenue. Officer Angela Donovan arrived and heard commotion inside the apartment, according to prosecutors.

This was around the time the Barbie DVD was starting, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery State's Attorneys Office said. The officer unsuccessfully demanded to be allowed inside. Donovan called for backup, but decided to force her way in before it arrived, Takoma police said. Once in, she ordered Ovalle to drop the knife but he refused, according to Takoma Police. Neither Ovalle nor the victim was injured critically from the gunshots.

Ovalle also was convicted of burglary, stalking and two violations of a protective order, according to Takoma Park police. Sentencing in the case is set for Oct 6.