Mugshot of Tizoni Mahoney. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — A man was arrested on charges of domestic violence after his wife's reported desperate escape from weeks of abuse.
The woman first sought help from Port Authority police at the Cyril E. King Airport on July 3, telling them that she had been assaulted by her husband. He had driven her to the airport and she jumped out of the vehicle to seek help, the woman said. The officer notified the domestic violence unit, and after documenting her injuries, the woman was taken to hospital for treatment.
The next day, two people presented themselves at the Richard Callwood command in connection with a reported missing persons case. The injured woman's son was accompanied by his wife, who served as a translator. Much earlier that morning, investigators were told that Tizoni Mahoney had come to the station to report his wife missing.
Police learned that the couple had come in because they received a call from Mahoney, who relayed the surprising news that he was now married to the man's mother. Mahoney had found their number in one of his wife's phones, he said, and called them after she disappeared at the airport. The woman's relatives were suspicious, and decided to go look for her at the hospital. After being directed to the police, they learned that the woman had been taken to a safe location while an investigation was being conducted.
Investigators then spoke to the woman herself. She told them that she and Mahoney met while working at a popular hotel. They moved in together in February of this year and got married in mid-June.
Almost immediately after, the woman told police, her husband became abusive. She described accusations of cheating and what police called “a week of torment” beginning on June 22, when she was reportedly dragged out of the shower and slapped, kicked, and choked to the point of losing consciousness.
On that day, after being humiliated in front of his family members, the newly-wed woman reportedly tried to return his ring and asked to be taken to the hospital, but Mahoney just drove around the island. Instead of medical treatment for the pain in her neck, he reportedly took his bride to the immigration office to inquire about self-deportation.
This pattern repeated itself over the days that followed - accusations of infidelity followed by physical abuse. On July 3, Mahoney reportedly started up with the accusations again and made her pack her belongings, alternately promising to have his new wife deported or to send her body back to her home country.
She told police that he made her get into the vehicle, saying they were going to the courthouse. Instead, Mahoney reportedly drove around St. Thomas again, making several stops at the airport, and making numerous calls ostensibly to inquire about self-deportation. At one point, he started searching for a hotel room, the woman said, which made her feel like he might be planning to harm her.
The woman told police of another instance where her husband parked the vehicle and held her at gunpoint, demanding she confess to a nonexistent affair. They were parked in that location for about half an hour, she said, with Mahoney pointing the gun at her off and on the whole time.
When he drove to the airport again, the woman said she decided that she would rather take her chances with deportation than leave the facility with her husband. She told police that she threw her backpack out of the car, and opened the door while the vehicle was still moving. The woman described hearing Mahoney shouting after her to wait, but said she kept running until she was safely inside.
Mahoney presented himself to the Domestic Violence Unit on Tuesday, where he was arrested and charged with simple, second-degree and third-degree assault, all as crimes of domestic violence. He was also charged with possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, and disturbance of the peace.
He was remanded into custody to await his initial court appearance, which was scheduled for Wednesday. While court records indicate that Mahoney did appear before Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull to be advised of his rights, no record of the outcome of that proceeding has been made available to the public as of press time.
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